Cappelletti filled with meat and served with homemade tomato sauce

Step by step

1. Step 1

   The only slightly tricky part to this recipe is making the tomato sauce. But since this is one of the simplest sauces in the book, there’s no need to worry.

   Gently fry the finely chopped onions and garlic in a large saucepan with the olive oil over a low heat for about 15 minutes.

   Blanch the tomatoes: cut a cross in the bottom with a sharp knife and immerse them in boiling water for less than a minute. Then plunge them into cold water and remove the skin and pips (if the tomatoes are so ripe that they simply fall apart, continue with the skin and pips included). Add the tomatoes to the saucepan, add salt and pepper, cover and simmer over a low heat for 50 minutes. Once cooked, blend slightly, but don’t overdo it: it’s best to leave some texture in it.

   Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water, following the indications on the packet. When it is cooked al dente, pour the sauce on top and finish off with a few leaves of fresh basil and some grated Parmesan cheese.

2. ‘- If you’re always rushed off your feet juggling work and family, why not keep some jars of healthy, tasty homemade tomato sauce at the back of your fridge ready for whenever you need it?
   – Some children prefer this kind of pasta without any sauce. In this case, you could serve freshly boiled cappelletti drizzled with olive oil and topped off with some chopped black olives.