HANDS up if you've ever come home from work starving hungry, and after rooting around for something to eat, opted for pasta in a bland sauce?

Admittedly, it's quick and easy, but convenience doesn't always make for exciting food. And eating pasta as a substitute for a proper meal doesn't really do Italy's finest culinary export justice.

So back to basics first: pasta is made from the flour of certain grains, mixed with water and/or eggs. It's kneaded and formed into different shapes, then boiled.

Making your own pasta will never be as cheap as buying the ready-to-go kind but it can be a lot of fun.

To make a basic dough, you will need:500g strong white flour 3 large eggs 8 egg yolks.

Place the flour in a heap on a clean surface, making a well in the centre, then place the eggs and yolks in the middle and gently combine them with a fork until all the flour and eggs are mixed together. Knead the soft dough with your hands until it becomes soft and elastic.

When you are happy with the dough, wrap it in cling film and leave it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This is an important stage, as it allows the flour to develop so your pasta will be light.

Break the dough into four pieces and either use a rolling machine (available from all kitchen stores) or a rolling pin to flatten the mix out into thin sheets before shaping the pasta as desired.

To cook, drop the pasta into salted boiling water. For al dente - pasta with a slight bite - boil for five minutes, for softer pasta, leave for a minute or two longer.

Try the following pasta parcels with tuna and potatoes.

WHAT DO I NEED?Serves 4 250g/9oz tuna steak, chopped into 2cm/in pieces 1 glass of white wine 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped grated zest of 1 lemon 2 sprigs of rosemary, broken into pieces Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 8 new potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice 12 ripe plum tomatoes, de-seeded and roughly chopped Handful of flat-leaf parsley, plus more to serve 350g/12oz spaghetti 2tbsp of olive oil Parchment or greaseproof-paper to make the parcelsWHAT SHOULD I DO?Place the tuna in a bowl with the wine, garlic, lemon zest, rosemary and some seasoning. Leave to marinade for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Towards the end of the marinating time, cook the potato dice in boiling salted water for six minutes until tender. Strain, then combine with the tomatoes and most of the parsley.

At the same time, half-cook the spaghetti (if using ready-bought cook for just over half the time suggested on the packet) and drain well. In a large frying pan, heat the oil until hot, add the tuna and marinade and fry very quickly for six minutes. Turn down the heat and add the spaghetti, tomatoes and potatoes and mix well.

Prepare four parcels with parchment or grease-proof paper. Add one quarter of the mix to each and fold up loosely like an envelope, fold over the top to seal completely.

Place in a pre-heated oven for seven minutes. Serve at once, slashing the bags at the table, and sprinkling with more parsley.

VARIATIONSIf you don't fancy tuna, try replacing it with some thinly sliced courgette and courgette flowers. Fry for three minutes with white wine and garlic, add parsley and mint before mixing with the pasta and stuffing the parcels.

Try swapping the tuna for a dozen fruity black olives, or for something completely different, fry two sliced red onions in a little butter until softened, then add 450g/1lb of shelled broad beans, chopped mint, and garlic. Cook until the beans are tender before adding 100g/4oz of freshly grated Pecorino cheese to make a sauce. Stir in the pasta and fill the parcels.

HOW TO BE A PASTA MASTERPasta comes in all shapes and sizes. Here is a rough guide to recognition.

* Shaped pasta: conchiglie - large, shell-shaped; farfalle - shaped like a bow tie or butterfly; fiori - from the Italian for flowers, but it looks more like cogs; fusilli - a three-edged spiral and it often comes in different colours.

* Tubular pasta: mezzani - short curved tubes; penne - medium-length tubes which are cut diagonally at both ends.

* Strand pasta or noodles: spaghetti - the most famous of all pasta comes in long, thin strands and is ideal for Bolognese. Flattened spaghetti is called linguine; vermicelli - long, round strands is much thinner than spaghetti.

* Ribbon pasta: lasagne - very wide sheets; tagliatelle - ribbons of pasta, less than 1cm wide.

* Stuffed pasta: cannelloni - rolls stuffed with Bolognese-style sauce and cooked in the oven; ravioli - rectangular pockets, usually stuffed with minced beef; tortellini - small rectangles, about 2cm in diameter.