I adapted a recipe by Gino D'Acampo a couple of nights ago and it was a triumph. For two people you need:

250g dried linguine (or spaghetti or tagliatelle)
A sprinkling of dried chilli flakes, to taste (it needs to be quite spicy)
About 125g diced pancetta or unsmoked bacon
A big garlic clove
About 30g FRESH basil (or forget it)
A big double handful of the best cherry tomatoes, cut in half
100ml of the finest extra virgin olive oil, plus an extra glug to fry the bacon
Salt
Parmesan or pecorino, freshly grated.

Start the pasta pan going with loads of boiling salted water. It should taste like the Mediterranean.

Turn on your oven very low (100C) both to warm your bowls and to soften the tomatoes on a small tray (they need to keep their shape, not fall to bits).

Use a hand blender or whatever you use to whizz the 100ml olive oil and garlic for a minute. Add the basil, stalks and all, and whizz again for another minute. It needs to be quite smooth.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon with the chilli flakes and a glug of olive oil in a small frying pan until rendered and not quite crispy - it took me about eight minutes, so next time I'll do this while the pasta is cooking.

When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it but keep a bit of pasta water just in case. Tip the pasta back into its pan and just add everything else to it, stirring carefully off the heat to thoroughly coat the pasta. Decide whether it needs a splash of pasta water to loosen the sauce (mine didn't but it was a marginal decision).

Transfer the grub into warm bowls and sprinkle the cheese on top. There you go. It's simple and quick and it's a star performer.