Tabasco! It’s probably our family’s most regularly consumed condiment, and one that Little Al has recently become obsessed with. Al’s favourite is Chipotle, but we’ve gone with the classic Red Pepper for this week’s pasta. Its earthy, spicy, familiar smell somehow reminds me of my mum taking me on our regular rounds of the imported food stores when I was a kid. So, all things considered, it’s past time that we stuck it in some pasta dough.

We’ve been making all kinds of creative pasta lately, with unusual ingredient lists, playful dough colourings, and fiddly shapes. Well, this week we’re going back to basics, and cooking up a crowd-pleasing carbonara. To add a little Pasta et Al spin, we’ve made our tonnarelli with half rye flour, and smoked it briefly before tossing it through the sauce. It’s a creamy, cheesy, smoky smile-bringer.

This week we’re bringing you a family classic, a simple and delicious dish that was on regular rotation when I was a kid. Tuna and capsicum pasta can be as straightforward as a couple of capsicums, a tin of tuna, and some dried pasta. Despite this simplicity, or perhaps because of it, it makes for an unexpectedly satisfying meal and a perfect option for a quick dinner.