Homemade pasta & tomato sauce

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and gently fry the garlic and onions until soft. Add the mushrooms, chilli, tinned tomatoes, mixed herbs and season well. Leave to simmer gently on a low heat.

In a large bowl add the flour and eggs and mix well using hands to form a stiff dough. Turn out on to a floured surface. If the dough is too dry add a little drop of oil, and equally if it is too sticky to knead add more four. Knead the dough until it is smooth and has the consistency of play dough. This may take quite a few minutes.

Taking a tennis ball sized piece of dough at a time, either roll by hand using a rolling pin or pass it through a pasta machine until it is flat and smooth. Keep the remaining dough covered with cling film to stop it drying out. If rolling by hand this will require some serious elbow work! Once the required thickness either cut into strips using a sharp knife or pass through pasta machine again on the cutter setting. Repeat this until all the dough is used up.

Boil pasta in a large pan of salted water for 5 minutes or until just al dente. Drain.

Serve on a plate, topped with the pasta sauce which you made earlier, garnish with basil leaves. Great with Parmesan cheese.