Builders Breakfast Pasta

One day I came home from work to find the sorry looking remains of a fry up in the fridge.  Leftover, uncooked sausages, black pudding, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms were scattered haphazardly across the shelves, whilst a sheepish looking Steve sat on the sofa.

"I got hungry".

The problem was, we didn't have enough leftover bits and pieces for two complete grill ups (always a grill up when I'm cooking it) and I didn't want to waste anything.

That's when it hit me.  Builders Breakfast Pasta - a pasta sauce made out of all the fry up ingredients.  We were both rather sceptical about it, but thought we should at least give it a go for dinner the following evening.

This is the surprisingly delicious result of that experiment.

So, for a pasta dish fit to grace the hallowed tables of any honest corner cafe frequented by builders, students, emergency service workers at the end of their shift and anyone in need of a strong hangover fix, you will need (for 2-3 people):

The leftovers from a fry up the previous day (or just get some sausages (about 3), 2-3 rashers of unsmoked streaky bacon, a handful of (about 6 medium) button mushrooms, some slices of black pudding and a couple of peeled tomatoes, all chopped into bite size pieces)
1 tin of tinned chopped tomatoes
125g dried pasta (I used penne as it is what I had to hand)
1 tablespoon dried or frozen basil, or a couple of shredded leaves of fresh basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon tomato puree (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic oil OR
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 crushed clove of garlic
Tabasco (it is me, after all)

Heat the garlic oil or the vegetable oil in a pan and add the crushed garlic clove to the oil if you are using it.

Add choppped sausage, bacon and black pudding to the pan and fry until lightly browned
Add the mushrooms to the pan and fry for 3-5 minutes

Add the chopped tomato and the tin of chopped tomatoes to the pan and stir to form a sauce

Add the herbs, sugar and tomato puree to the pan, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer.  Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as required.  Cover and leave to simmer while you cook the pasta

Put the penne in a pan of lightly salted boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions

Drain, reserving a half ladle of the starchy cooking water.  Add the water to the pasta sauce and stir through until the sauce becomes a bit more glossy. 

Pour the drained pasta into the sauce and stir it all together then leave to simmer for 2 more minutes.

Serve - tabasco optional (and in my case, essential)!

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