Lazy Night In

There is a particular kind of evening where the gap between wanting a good dinner and having the energy to produce one feels impossibly wide. The Lazy Night In is built for that gap - a combination of three ingredients that together make something genuinely impressive in about the time it takes to boil pasta.

The anchor of the bundle is Borella's Porcini Mushroom Sauce - a product that earns the word "impressive" in the context of something jarred. At 86% mushrooms with no preservatives and no artificial colours, this is a highly concentrated sauce with a deep, earthy, naturally umami character that behaves like something that took considerably longer to make. No additional cooking is needed - cook the pasta, toss it through the sauce with a splash of reserved pasta water, and it is done.

Faella Sedani is the pasta. A ridged tube from one of Campania's most respected pasta producers, bronze-extruded and slow-dried in the tradition of Torre Annunziata. The ridges grip the mushroom sauce, the tube draws it in, and because Faella's semolina quality produces a starchier cooking water, the pasta water does more work in emulsifying the sauce into something that coats evenly and clings.

Piccardo & Savore's Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Liguria finishes the dish. A pour over the top just before serving lifts the earthiness of the mushrooms, adds gloss, and brings the freshness of a good cold-pressed oil into what would otherwise be a quite dense flavour profile. That finishing drizzle takes five seconds and makes the whole thing taste considered.

Simple enough for a Tuesday. Good enough for anyone you happen to be feeding.

Best for: Quick weeknight dinners, impromptu guests, and anyone who wants a restaurant-quality pasta without the effort.