Fresh tomato pasta sauce with a little luxury addition... truffle!

Yesterday was the birthday of the little girl I'm looking after here in Italy. Today, that means one thing: Leftovers! Of course there is cake and crisps to be used up, but one particular ingredient has really caught my attention: Truffle Sauce. I have only eaten truffle twice before in my life, and I've certainly never had it in a quantity to have leftovers! Being told to 'use up' the rest of the sauce was a very enjoyable task to undertake, but admittedly with a bit of pressure. When using such a luxurious ingredient, you really don't want to waste it. I could have used it simply on bruschetta, or added to scrambled eggs (this is surprisingly delicious!), but I decided on a combination inspired by a friend. On one of the only two previous truffle eating occasions, an Italian friend conjured up an incredibly simple, but fresh silky tomato spaghetti dish. This may seem boring and uninventive, but the earthy truffle adds an incredible depth to the sweet, fresh tomatoes and, I assure you, once you've tasted it, you won't for a second think it's boring... you'll be too busy diving in for the next mouthful.

Serves 4

10 ripe medium sized tomatoes (on the vine, ideally), sliced about half cm thick.
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly chopped
5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
280g spaghetti
1-2 tsp. salsa tartufata* (truffle sauce - you ideally want to find one which contains almost purely truffle and olive oil, don't get one with cream. This is readily available here in Italy, but may take a little more searching for in other countries - good Italian delis/online sellers should stock some)

* Although the dish takes on a completely different dimension with the addition of truffles, you would still have a lovely fresh tomato sauce without it. If you are going without, I'd add a little extra oil and some fresh basil to give it a little more depth, then top with parmesan.

• On a low heat, gently fry the onions with all but 2 tbsp. of the olive oil until softened but not browned.
• Add the peppers and garlic and gently fry for a further 4 minutes or so until the peppers are silky and softened.
• Bring a large pan of water to the boil for the spaghetti, meanwhile add the tomatoes to the pan and keep the heat low.
• Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions (the tomatoes need to be cooking for about 5 - 10 minutes more to become really softened so, if using fresh pasta, you may need to wait a while).
• Once the pasta is a minute from being ready, add the truffle and extra oil to the pan. You mustn't cook the truffle, you're just gently heating it through to help it release its flavours into the sauce.
• Add a 2 - 3 tbsp. of the pasta water to the sauce, then drain the pasta.
• Combine all together and serve.