You can bake the dish at the end if you fancy (make sure to add additional points if you use more cheese) however I’ve tested it both ways and my favourite is to stir the cheese through the pasta and let it go all stringy and melty. Divine.

I used Cape Herbs and Spices Texan Steak Seasoning in this recipe but you can use any steak seasoning you can get your hands on (Schwartz do one which is available in most supermarkets). Pickle relish is also widely available, just look near the chutneys!

If you are feeling really extra you can fry up a couple of slices of bacon near the end of cooking the pasta. Remove the fat, fry in 1kal til crispy and then chop to a fine crumb, then sprinkle across the finished dish when you are dressing it. If you use bacon this would make it one extra point per person.

 POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 6 – per serving = 9 points or 441 cals, 12.3g fat, 51.6g carbs, 29.4g protein

Ingredients

500g lean (5%) beef mince, raw

1 white onion,  finely diced

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

5 tsp steak seasoning

1 beef stock cube, crumbled

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp each onion powder and garlic powder

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

400g tin of tomatoes

1 tsp salt

360g pasta (shape of your choice), dry

2 tbsp each reduced sugar and salt ketchup, American yellow mustard and pickle relish

75g light Cheddar cheese, grated

3 spring onions, sliced into thin rounds

2 large gherkins, sliced into rounds

Low calorie cooking spray

Method

1. Take a large pan (with a lid if you have one), spray with low-calorie cooking spray and add the mince. Fry on a medium/high heat for around 5 minutes until the meat starts to brown and cook through.
2. Add the onion and garlic with 2 teaspoons of the steak seasoning, fry for another few minutes, and then crumble in the stock cube and add the tomato purée.
3. Stir-fry for a minute, and then add the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.
4. Fry for a few seconds and then add the tomatoes, 1 litre of boiling water and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir and add the pasta, stirring to make sure the stock covers it.
5. Bring to the boil, pop the lid on and reduce to a simmer for 10–12 minutes until the pasta is cooked through (the pasta should absorb most of the water so the dish doesn’t end up a runny consistency).
6. Remove the lid, add the remaining steak seasoning, ketchup, mustard and pickle relish, and simmer for another 5 minutes, letting the sauce thicken up.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper and then finally stir through the cheese, spring onions and gherkins. Simmer for another minute or so to let the cheese melt, then remove from the heat.
8. Plate up and sprinkle with bacon crumb if you are having it.

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