Cauliflower and Sunflower Seed Pesto
You'll never throw away your cauliflower leaves again after trying this pesto.
Pasta with Roasted Pumpkin, Tomatoes and Bacon
Sophie Gray shares her recipe for a hearty pumpkin pasta that will please your hungry family.
Don’t lose track while you’re cooking, click on an ingredient or step to tick it off so you know where you are up to.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 200g bacon
- 300g can chopped tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 handful of torn basil leaves or 2 tsp basil pesto
- 400g dried spaghetti
- 2 teaspoon salt
Method
- Heat your oven to 230°c.
- In a roasting pan, pour 2 tablespoons of oil and stir in pumpkin cubes. Toss to coat with oil and roast quickly while making the sauce (about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally.
- To make the sauce, heat the remaining oil in a saucepan and saute the onion till soft. Then add garlic and bacon, chopped in small pieces. Stir frequently to ensure that it doesn’t stick to the pan. Add tomatoes, sugar and basil or pesto and season to taste.
- Put a large pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti. When the water is boiling add 2 teaspoo salt and a splash of oil to the water. The salt not only improves the flavour it adds buoyancy, preventing the pasta from sinking to the bottom. The little dash of oil keeps the pasta slipping through the water, so it is less likely to clump together and cooks more evenly.
- Add the dried pasta and boil until al dente. Gently fold the roasted pumpkin into the sauce and toss through the pasta. Pile on the plates and garnish with parmesan and basil.