a) Halve the bell pepper and discard the core and seeds. 

b) Slice into thin strips, then chop into roughly 1cm small pieces.

a) Heat a drizzle of oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat.

b) Once hot, add the bacon, sliced pepper and sausage meat.

c) Use a spoon to break the sausage meat up into equal-sized large chunks, roughly 6 per person, and fry until browned, 8-10 mins.

d) Drain and discard any excess fat. IMPORTANT: Wash hands and utensils after handling raw meat. Cook bacon thoroughly. 

a) Add the passata, mixed herbs, chicken stock paste, sugar and water for the sauce (see pantry for both amounts). 

b) Bring to the boil, then lower the heat.  

a) Add the ditali pasta to the pan.

b) Simmer until the pasta is tender and the sausage is cooked, 10 mins. IMPORTANT: Cook the sausage meat so there's no pink in the middle.

a) Next, add the spinach to the pan until wilted and piping hot, 1-2 mins, then remove from the heat.

b) Stir in the sun-dried tomato paste and half the Italian style cheese.

c) Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. 

a) Spoon the soup into your bowls.

b) Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top to finish.