Put some water on to boil for the Pasta; add plenty of Salt and a little Olive Oil to the pan
Meanwhile, make your Salad… Wash the Lettuce leaves, leave them whole. Wash the Tomato/es and either slice, or leave whole. Wash the Cucumber and cut into chunks or slices. Slice half a Red Onion. Go ‘rustic and simple’ on a plate with the Salad… cut a Lemon in half and serve on the side with a little jug of Olive Oil or Rape Seed Oil… Everyone can help themselves to bits and pieces of Salad and some Lemon and Oil
When the water is boiling, add the Pasta and cook according to instructions…
While the Pasta is cooking, prepare the Sauce… Finely chop a few cloves of Garlic (4 or 5 for a couple of people) and some Red Chilli and half a Red Onion. Heat a little Olive Oil in a pan and add the red Onion. Cook for a few minutes on a medium to high heat. Now add the Garlic and Chilli and stir while cooking for a minute or two. When the Garlic smells cooked, but not burnt – remove the pan from the heat and add a dash of Lemon Juice
Reserve a big jug of the cooking water before you drain the Pasta (when it is cooked!)
Immediately put the Pasta back in the pan, on a low heat and then add the Onions, Garlic and Chilli. Also add a big drizzle of Virgin Olive Oil, a massive drizzle of the cooking water, a good grind of Black Pepper and also a little Salt. Stir and cook through for a minute… Taste and season accordingly – you could add a squeeze more Lemon if you fancy…
You could add some fresh Herbs here – I added a bit of fresh Thyme (as pictured) – but Basil would be brilliant, or Chives or Parsley
Serve the Pasta immediately with some Garlicky Breadcrumbs and of course, the very simple Salad…