The Canny Cook: Cherry tomato and pancetta pasta

Few dishes bring me as much joy in the summer as pasta with cherry tomato sauce. It has been a true staple of my warm-weather cooking for as long as I can remember. Although there may be small variations in the supporting ingredients, the heart of the dish always remains the same: really good extra virgin olive oil and vibrant tomatoes.
I almost always have a punnet of cherry tomatoes in the fridge in summer, which is handy because larger ones just don't deliver the same results. Cherry tomatoes are naturally sweet and juicy, with a more concentrated flavour and lower water content. They also contain more pectin (a natural thickening agent) than bigger varieties, which means they emulsify with the olive oil to create a rich, velvety sauce.
In this recipe, I've added salty pancetta, of which a little goes a long way. If you are looking for a vegetarian option, try replacing it with a couple of tablespoons of capers, torn black olives or chopped sun-dried tomatoes – anything that brings a briny, umami hit. Alternatively, you could skip the shallot and pancetta and just add some thinly sliced garlic for the simplest take on this sauce. As with most tomato- based pastas, a few torn basil leaves and a showering of grated parmesan provide the perfect finishing touches.
METHOD
Finely dice the shallots. Heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan, add the shallots and pancetta, and fry over a medium heat for 6-7 minutes until the shallot softens and the pancetta is golden.
Quarter the tomatoes and add to the pan with a pinch of salt, turning up the heat a notch. Fry for another 6-7 minutes until they have broken down a little.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water for a minute less than the packet instructions. Scoop out a mugful of the cooking water before draining.
Tip the drained pasta into the frying pan with the tomatoes and pancetta. Add a glug of the cooking water and toss everything over the heat for a minute.
Divide between plates and top with plenty of parmesan and a few torn basil leaves, if you have them. Season with ground black pepper and serve.
Do you have a great recipe for eating well and cutting food bills? Email editor@you.co.uk. If we print it here, we'll send you a bottle of champagne
*This cost assumes you already have some basic store-cupboard ingredients. prices taken from aldi and correct at time of going to press.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Times

3 hours ago

• Times

The two-decade battle to fell Italy's most hated crane

Roberto Amadori dismantled a large crane in Florence this week and was suddenly the most popular man in the city. 'There was a crowd cheering when I finished,' he said. 'An elderly women rushed up to thank me, saying, 'Florence shines once again'.' Amadori, who carries out such projects for a living, had pulled down not just any crane, but the most notorious and hated one in Italy. Known locally as the 'Metal Monster' it had stood obstinately for 19 years in the narrow piazza between the two wings of the Uffizi Gallery, home to fabulous Botticellis, Caravaggios, Raphaels and Titians: a giant yellow eyesore looming over one of the biggest concentrations of beauty anywhere in the world. Standing 60 metres high, it was a scar on a celebrated skyline which boasts Brunelleschi's magnificent cathedral dome, Giotto's bell tower and the 14th-century Palazzo Vecchio. 'This was a historic moment for our city — watching the dismantling of the crane after all these years was extremely emotional,' said the mayor Sara Funaro when the crane came down. The Italian culture minister travelled from Rome to celebrate the event. Loathing of the crane grew as its survival, year after year, summed up a very Italian culture of political squabbling, lethargic bureaucracy and the shunting of tough decisions between stakeholders. 'For 19 years no one knew how to get rid of the crane and no one really knows why it stayed there so long,' said a local official who declined to be named. First erected in 2006, the 33-tonne crane was put to use as builders started converting the first floor of the gallery, which was still used to store archives, into a exhibition space to add to the existing gallery area on the second floor. The metal structure was set up near the front door of the 16th-century building, opposite a statue of Giotto, the 14th-century painter and architect, who appeared to glower at it furiously. Planners said the crane would be needed for five years, but a decade later, with the conversion still continuing, Florentines began to question if the crane was really needed. By 2018 Marco Stella, a councillor, was raging about the 'unacceptable' presence of the crane. People lit 12 candles at its base and wished it happy birthday in an ironic protest. The crane, gru in Italian, was given its own Instagram page, 'Gru in Florence' which posted stunning photos of the city ruined by the crane sticking into them. The anonymous author of the cult page took on the persona of the crane, writing, 'Disclosure: I am 13 years old but in Gru-years that's 26,' and, 'If getting photoshopped out of pictures was a sport, I'd be [the record-breaking swimmer] Michael Phelps.' Behind the jokes, anger was growing. 'People were asking, 'Is there an alternative to the crane?' But there were restrictions and despite mayors and local culture chiefs trying to get rid of it, they all failed,' the official said. Almost inevitably, the crane became handy ammunition in local political battles. When Eike Schmidt, then director of the Uffizi, announced last year that he would stand for mayor — an election he lost — he took aim at the incumbent Dario Nardella. He claimed Nardella was only then waking up to the crane 'outside his office'. Nardella hit back that as head of the Uffizi it was Schmidt's job to get rid of it, and said: 'He claims he is a great manager but he has not been able to take down a crane. How can he govern a city?' The truth is the refurbishment, and the crane, were run by the local culture authority, part of Rome's ministry of culture, adding another layer of bureaucracy. Typically the regional culture authority, known as a soprintendenza, is often short-staffed, underfunded and wrapped in red tape. But in 2023 the ministry handed control of the crane to the Uffizi and the following year a new director, Simone Verde, planned a final assault on the monster. Rather than waiting for funds, he raised €175,000 from a coalition of rich benefactors to replace the crane with a less intrusive elevator to raise building materials to the first floor. Valerio Tesi, who is managing the refurbishment, says the elevator is needed because the job will not be finished for a few years. One reason it is taking so long is that the first floor has already been put to use as an exhibition space and work to finish it needs to fit in around millions of visitors, he said. 'We also dug down 80cm at the bottom of a lift shaft during the refurbishment and found at least ten buried corpses from the Middle Ages,' he added. Finally, on Monday, Roberto Amadori arrived in his lorry which has a telescopic crane and gently brought down pieces of the larger crane as workers unbolted them, taking care not to drop them through the roof of the gallery. 'Mostly I install air conditioning units on hotels, so as a Florentine, this job was a privilege and an honour since people in this city couldn't bear the sight of the crane anymore,' he said. Verde reported that residents of the city had been stopping him in the street to thank him. 'Before it came down, one man in his eighties stopped me and said, 'Please let me see the Piazzale degli Uffizi again without the crane before I die'.' Verde said the crane had been such an irritant for Florentines because they were so attached to their collection of art, churches and palazzos — even more so than Romans. 'The link between heritage and identity here is unique in the world,' he said. The day after the crane vanished, Lucia Manneschi, a Florentine security guard, was patrolling the piazzale where the crane had stood and stopped to blink up at the blue sky. 'I'm 55 now, so I was 36 when they put that thing up,' she said. 'I'm so happy — I can't believe it's finally gone.'

Telegraph

4 hours ago

• Telegraph

Pea, pistachio and matcha cake

This cake is a real green extravaganza. I love matcha and I think the flavour goes well here – with the peas and pistachios, it's a green triple threat. That being said, matcha is a very specific flavour. If you haven't tried it before, I recommend grabbing an iced matcha or similar drink at a coffee shop before trying this recipe, especially as it's a more expensive ingredient. If you don't like matcha or don't want to use it, just leave it out and glaze the cake with a simple icing, then scatter over some pistachios. I use lime juice in the glaze to add a bit of zing, but you can use milk if you're not a lime fiend. Cooling time required Overview Prep time 20 mins Cook time 1 hr Serves 10 to 12 Ingredients 115ml sunflower or vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing the tin 125g frozen peas 200g natural yoghurt 75g pistachios, plus extra for decorating, if you like 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 eggs 175g caster sugar 200g self-raising flour ½ tsp baking powder 1 tbsp matcha powder Zest of 1 lime For the glaze 125g icing sugar ½ tsp matcha powder 1½ tbsp lime juice (or you can use milk), or as needed Method Step Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4. Step Oil a 1.5-litre loaf tin and line with parchment paper. Step Place 125g frozen peas in a heatproof bowl and cover with freshly boiled water to defrost. Leave for a few minutes, then drain. Step Tip the peas into a food processor, add 100g natural yogurt and blitz until smooth. Step Throw in 75g pistachios and blitz until coarsely chopped. Set aside. Step In a mixing bowl, combine 115ml sunflower or vegetable oil, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 3 eggs, then stir in the remaining 100g yoghurt, 175g caster sugar, and the pea and pistachio mixture.

The Sun

8 hours ago

• The Sun

Thousands of plush toys sold in UK are urgently recalled & ‘rejected at border' over ‘serious' health risk

THOUSANDS of plush toys across the UK have been urgently recalled after they were flagged over a serious health risk. Locisne has pulled its Hamster Plush Toy from store shelves - with conerns it could present a serious risk to life. The item has been removed from online marketplaces including from Amazon. "This product presents a serious risk of choking as the eyes of the hamster can detach and fit wholly in a small parts cylinder," a government report said. "If a child under 3 were to use and mouth the toy, the small parts may become detached and cause the child to choke. "The product does not meet the requirements of the Toys [Safety] Regulations 2011." Other recent product recalls While the laws around toys are stringent, products still make it to market that present a danger to children. The Nail Art Studio kit, by the brand Girls Creator, is a nail art set that includes nail varnish, a battery-operated nail dryer and a range of nail accessories. However, a warning was issued after a product safety report found a risk of suffocation for children. Another recent example was the Joycat Baby Float, sold on Amazon. The blue and yellow sea-themed swim seat, intended for babies and toddlers, was blocked from entering the country at the border. The float was branded a safety risk after authorities found that its attachable canopy could lift the float from the water in windy conditions, putting children in danger. Ford Recalls Over 1 Million Vehicles: Rearview Camera Glitch Explained The report also raised concerns that the float's colours do not provide enough contrast with the water, making it harder to spot in an emergency. What are my product recall rights? Product recalls are an important means of protecting consumers from dangerous goods. As a general rule, if a recall involves a branded product, the manufacturer would usually have lead responsibility for the recall action. But it's often left up to supermarkets to notify customers when products could put them at risk. If you are concerned about the safety of a product you own, always check the manufacturer's website to see if a safety notice has been issued. When it comes to appliances, rather than just food items, the onus is usually on you - the customer - to register the appliance with the manufacturer as if you don't there is no way of contacting you to tell you about a fault. If you become aware that an item you own has been recalled or has any safety noticed issued against it, make sure you follow the instructions given to you by the manufacturer. They should usually provide you with more information and a contact number on its safety notice. In some cases, the manufacturer might ask you to return the item for a full refund or arrange for the faulty product to be collected.