Ground Salami Bolognese with Curly Pasta

This weekend was cold, rainy, and the perfect excuse to whip out my favourite cook books in front of the heater. Amidst the hundreds of pasta recipes (nearly all my cook books are Italian and in hindsight, are fairly mute considering the best Italian recipes are within my own family), I stumbled across a recipe that uses curly pasta. I love experimenting with food, but I don't think even Nigella could convince me there's a pasta superior to the humble penne rigatti. (For my non-pasta loving friends, that's the tubes with lines through them.)

To be honest, this pasta looks silly and in my mind, childish - because no one over the age of 5 should be eating something called 'curly pasta', HOWEVER I will eat my words (and my curly pasta) and admit this is the perfect shape to hold just the right amount of sauce and a bit of ground meat. And so this recipe was born.

If you're lucky enough to have an Italian friend/neighbour/colleague, beg for, borrow, or steal a roll of their homemade salami. Every family makes it differently, and every family thinks theirs is the best. Whether they like salami filled with chilli, with extra fat, or use a different cut of pork, you can guarantee your sauce is going to taste restaurant quality by using the homemade stuff. Of course, if you're yet to make salami friends, a stick of the storebought stuff works well too. Try to buy an Italian salami rather than a Hungarian or chorizo, as the flavour differs greatly.

Ingredients: Serves 4

• 1 Stick (about 200g) of Salami

• 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

• 1 Tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

• 750ml Passata

• 1 Tbs Rice Bran Oil

• 500g San Remo Pasta Curls

Let's Make This Pasta:

1. With a sharp knife, skin the salami and chop into big chunks. Using a food processor or blender, blitz salami until finely ground.

2. In a large saucepan, heat oil and add garlic and chilli. Lightly fry until aromatic. Add the salami and cook for around 5 minutes, stiring often.

3. Add passata and half fill the sauce bottle with water and add to the saucepan. Stir thoroughly and leave on simmer for as long as possible, topping up with water whenever the sauce reduces too much. Ideally, this will be cooked for an hour, but this will also taste great after about 20 min.

4. Bring another large saucepan full of water to the boil and add pasta. Cook for around 8 minutes or until al dente. Strain and throw straight into the sauce pot. Mix well so all the pasta is well coated in the sauce. Serve immediately with romano cheese and fresh basil.