Pasta Fairly Pronto

This evenings tapas got cancelled so back to the kitchen for me and some culinary inspiration required.  Fortunately I can always rely on one of the many food blogs I read to inspire me.  A new post in today from Cannelle et Vanille.  One of my favourites and certainly one of the most beautiful, the photos are just stunning.  Also great recipes! And all gluten free so a great resource for interesting, tasty gluten free fare if you are not a friend of gluten.

Today's inspiration was Roasted Golden Baby Beet, Squash and Bacon Quinoa Spaghetti.  I was also in the mood for some comfort food and pasta always does that for me.  It looked amazing (not that anything doesn't look completely amazing on this blog)  and I had similar-ish ingredients on hand.  What appealed...pasta of course and the beets with the chilli. A big fan of chilli, right up there with lemon zest for me, and I add it to a lot of dishes.  And bacon, need I say more, unless you are a vegetarian bacon is pretty much always a good addition. Though this would work well without the bacon too and would make a tasty veggie dish!

What I had at home: regular spaghetti, but I would like this with some whole wheat spaghetti too and I may even get around to trying some quinoa pasta with it too, pumpkin and kumara. Plus I had a little feta which I really like with roasted pumpkin.

So I bring you Pumpkin, Kumara, Bacon and Feta Spaghetti.

Ingredients

Half a pumpkin, cut in to thin wedges

1 kumura, cut in to thin wedges

Pinch (or 2) chilli flakes - basically you can use as much or as little as you like.

1/2 tsp brown sugar

2 rashers bacon, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Olive Oil

225g spaghetti

Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 200°C. 

Place kumura and pumpkin in roasting tray.  Coat with a little olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper, a pinch or 2 of chilli flakes and 1/2 tsp brown sugar, just to bring out the sweetness.  Place in oven for 30 minutes or until nice and roasted.

Meanwhile heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic and saute for a moment, then add the bacon and a pinch of chilli flakes.  Fry until the bacon is crispy.

Bring a large pot of salted water (it should taste like the sea so don't be shy with the salt!) to the boil and add the pasta and cook until al dente, with still just a little bit of bite.

Drain the pasta and toss together in the frying pan with the bacon and the roasted pumpkin and kumara, this will allow all the flavours to come together.  To serve serve sprinkle with a little crumbled feta and a drizzle of good EVOO.

Serve immediately with a simple green salad.

I love how the warmth of the chillies plays against the sweetness of the roasted pumpkin, really the only way I like pumpkin.  Most definitely not a fan of pumpkin soup or pie.  And the feta just sets it all off nicely with that salty creamy hit.

Buon Apettito!