Pasta with Pancetta

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 200g linguine
• 50g pancetta
• 50 g Pecorino
• 500 g tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp, leveled tomato paste
• 1 tbsp, levelled sugar
• 1 handful of basil
• 6 balls mini mozzarella (buffalo mozzarella)
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt and pepper
• chili flakes

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Make a cross-shaped cut in the bottom of the tomatoes. Place them in a pot of boiling water, wait 2 minutes, then place them in ice-cold water for 10 minutes. Remove the tomatoes and remove the skins with a knife. Quarter the tomatoes, removing the stems and seeds. Heat half of the olive oil in a pot. Peel the onion and garlic and dice both very finely. Sauté the onion and garlic over low heat. Add the sugar and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add the prepared tomatoes to the pot and simmer the tomato sauce for about 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down, stirring regularly. Now either puree the sauce or pass it through a fine sieve. Season with salt, pepper, and chili to taste. Chop half of the basil and stir it into the sauce. Cook the pasta in lightly salted water for 2 minutes less than the package instructions. Meanwhile, finely dice the pancetta and grate the pecorino. In a pan, gently fry the pancetta. Don’t overcook it, or it will become hard. Deglaze with the tomato sauce. Stir half of the pecorino into the sauce. Scoop the pasta directly from the pot and add it to the pan, adding a little of the pasta water if you like; this will make the sauce creamier. Toss the pasta in the pan and finish cooking. Plate the pasta and garnish with the remaining basil leaves, mozzarella balls, the remaining pecorino, and the remaining olive oil. You can also refine the sauce in the pan with a splash of white wine.