By now you know I regularly have a stash of roasted veggies in the fridge or freezer as the base for quick midweek dinners. This easy pasta dish is super-quick, nourishing and packed with flavour - a great way to eat lots of veggies and still have a comfort-food pasta meal. The roasted pumpkin chunks are really the star ingredient. Enjoy! Colleen
This recipe uses pumpkin you've already roasted and saved in fridge or freezer. If cooking from fresh add an extra 30 minutes.
Preparation 5 minutes
Cooking 10 - 12 minutes. I cook pasta in one pan and other ingredients in 2nd pan.
Ingredients
Pasta - enough for 2 people, 4 people or a tribe. I like to use spaghetti
NB reserve some of the pasta water to add back into sauce
Roasted pumpkin cut into chunks. Bite-size works best
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - good splash plus more just before serving
Butter (optional) - 2 teaspoons per person approx
garlic - crushed, approx 1/2 clove per person
sage leaves - roughly sliced - approx 6 leaves per person
Dried sage - tiny pinch per person
Dried mint or thyme - small pinch per person
Dried chilli flakes - to your taste (optional)
Baby spinach leaves - big handful per person - they wilt to almost nothing
Black olives - pitted and quartered. 4 or 5 per person
Parsley - small handful - roughly chopped
Feta cheese - approx 4 tablespoons per person - crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper - I like to add a decent amount just before serving
Small squeeze of lemon juice just before serving
Method
Cook pasta in rapidly boiling water according to packet directions (approx 10-12min)
While the pasta is cooking
In separate pan - heat the oil and butter, fry the sage leaves, add dried herbs and garlic .
Toss through the roasted pumpkin chunks to reheat.
Then toss in the baby spinach to wilt
Add the black olives and parsley
Drain the pasta - and reserve approx 1/2 cup of pasta starchy water
Add the cooked drained pasta to the pumpkin mixture and stir through some of the pasta water (start with a few tablespoons and add more if you need) to loosen the pasta - it makes a bit of a sauce with the oil and butter
Stir through the crumbled feta, black pepper and a dash of lemon juice.
Enjoy! Colleen