Beef Stew with Pappardelle Falso

Ingredients
- 1 large steak of cooked sirlion or rump (I used leftovers), diced - 1 onion, diced - 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped - 1 aubergine, diced - 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered - a generous spoonful of your favourite pasta sauce - a good glug of red wine - 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed - olive oil - handful of fresh basil, chopped - 5 or 6 sheets of lasagna pasta, broken into large pieces
Instructions
**This was a blatant, unashamed meal made from leftovers, which turned out wonderfully. Pappardelle is a very broad kind of fettucini, and you can simulate a similar effect in the mouth using my improvised broken lasagna pieces (careful, when you break them bits of shrapnel will fly everywhere). Of course, if you have real pappardelle, use that.** Serves 2. 1. Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a pan (you'll need one with a lid). When hot, add the onion and garlic and coat with the hot oil, stirring for a few minutes. 2. Add the diced steak, aubergine and fennel. Season. Pour in enough red wine to just cover everything. Give it a stir, turn the heat right down to the lowest setting possible and cover the pan. Leave it now for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. The onions should now be soft and caramelised and almost all the liquid gone. Put the kettle on the boil. Add a dollop of your favourite pasta sauce (something a little spicy goes nicely - try Arrabiata), the cherry tomatoes, the broken bits of lasagna, and pour on boiling water until the pasta is just covered. Cover the pan and turn the heat up to simmer. 4. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and allow the sauce to reduce. This will take another 5 minutes or so. Stir occasionally. When the pasta is done, the dish is ready. 5. Stir in the chopped basil. Spoon into bowls and serve with crusty bread.