RIGATONI AL POMODORO E PREZZEMOLO

I am a completely shameless solicitor for recipes: I don’t restrict myself to bothering just my friends and colleagues, but open the field to include any of their friends and colleagues too (indeed, anyone). This recipe finds its way here by just such a route. It was sent via a friend of my producer, David Edgar, one Geoff Metzker (to whom I am very grateful, as you should be, too) who picked it up during his time working for Sky in Rome. This is how this game works: cooking isn’t about the suspicious guarding of closely kept secrets but is a matter of sharing, passing on, the almost gossipy dissemination of habits and practices; recipes that are considered high level security documents are not recipes that survive (or ones, frankly, that you’d want to eat).

The bare ingredients don’t look much maybe, but everything comes together, without fuss, in the pan, on the plate: the perfect sauce when every tomato in the shop is tight-shouldered and unluscious.

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, cut into slivers

400g tin chopped tomatoes

125ml stock (Marigold vegetable bouillon powder and water is just fine)

bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

salt and pepper

500g rigatoni

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta.

Heat the oil and gently fry the garlic over low to medium heat. When it begins to take on a golden colour – though don’t let it scorch – add the tomatoes and turn up the heat. Stir in the stock and let it bubble away, reducing the sauce until it becomes quite lumpy and oily; this should take no more than about 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and (just before serving) add the parsley. Taste for seasoning, too, of course.

Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni following the instructions on the packet, and then toss the pasta into the sauce in the pan. Combine everything well and serve straightaway.

Serves 6 for a starter; 4 for a main course.