Tomato bredie with a twist

Place the tomatoes in boiling water and
skin once it’s cooled down and chop finely.
Set it aside.
Peel, rinse and chop the onion coarsely and throw in the pot once the oil has
heated.

Don’t put your pot on high; we don’t want
the onions to burn or brown.

It alters the colour of the tomato
dramatically…

Boil the pasta in a separate pot and add
some salt and 2 Tbsp’s of the garlic.

Once the onions have become translucent,
add the washed and cut up meat, some salt, a pinch of the cinnamon, chilli and
the balance of the garlic.

(You don’t have too flour and seal the
meat)

Once the pot has cooked dry and the
ingredients starts sticking, add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and the red
wine.

Stir the pot and you might need to add
boiling water (or more wine) if the mixture is too thick.

Put the lid on and lower the stoves
temperature to a 3 or 4.

Every 5 minutes or so, stir the pot and
check if the liquid needs topping up.

By now the pasta should be cooked and
drained.

Set it aside.

After about an hour when your meat is soft
(dependant on which meat was used) add more salt to taste, the balance of the
cinnamon and then add the sugar and parsley.

Do not add the sugar before hand as the
onions won’t cook away.

Once your sauce is thick and creamy (you shouldn’t
be able to tell the onions and tomatoes apart) add the cooked pasta to the pot
(trust me), stir it through and add more liquid (this time preferably boiling
water), no more than a cup to the pot and let it simmer for 5 minutes on low.

Keep stirring to ensure that the pasta doesn’t
get stuck to the base of the pot but don’t stir it too much breaking the pasta
up into scrambled eggs.

Adjust the seasoning and eat on its own,
with garlic bread or with rice.

Variations: You could replace the pasta
with potatoes, but make sure the potatoes are soft before adding the sugar.

Instead of chillies use a pinch or two of
cayenne pepper.

You can use any meat you like but if you’ve
given up watching your weight (like me), you’ll discover a fattier meat works
better.