Pumpkin Pasta
Super easy. Super cosy. Mac n’ cheese vibes. Great way to get a good whack of vitamin A for our immune systems in Winter. I thought this pasta would be a winner toddler food but she ate the crunchy kale and left the pasta. Go figure.
Ingredients
1kg butternut pumpkin
1 brown onion
4 garlic cloves (skins on)
½ cup milk of choice
3 Tbsp/45g butter
1 heaped tsp tomato paste
small bunch of kale
½-1 cup reserved pasta water
400-500g pasta (we used the Berkelo Sourdough Emmer Twists)
Parmesan
Method
Preheat oven to 180˚C.
Peel and chop the pumpkin into cubes and roughly chop the onion. On a baking tray, toss the pumpkin, onion, and whole garlic cloves with a drizzle of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until soft. Remove from oven and let cool.
While the pumpkin is cooking wash and trim the ends off the kale and cut the larger leaves in half. On another baking tray, toss lightly with oil and a pinch of salt and arrange in one layer. Bake in the oven above the pumpkin tray for about 10 minutes, checking after 5 min, until crispy.
Start cooking your pasta and towards the end reserve about a cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
In a blender, squeeze the garlic out of its skins and add pumpkin, onion, milk, butter, tomato paste and half a cup of pasta water. You may have to do this in two batches. Blend until smooth then pour into the pasta pot. Bring to a simmer, then stir in your cooked pasta until everything is warm and silky. Add more pasta water to thin if you need. Serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil, a few crispy kale leaves, and a good whack of grated parmesan.