Pasta
Creamy pumpkin pasta
Make the most of pumpkins this autumn. When puréed and combined with mascarpone and parmesan, their flesh transforms into a silky, delicious pasta sauce
- Prep:
- Cook:
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 500g pumpkin or squash, peeled and cut into roughly 3cm cubes
- 50-100ml whole milk
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tbsp mascarpone
- 350g short pasta (rigatoni or penne work well)
- 40g grated parmesan or vegetarian alternative, plus extra to serve
Method
- STEP 1
Heat the oil in a large, shallow, flameproof casserole or frying pan over a low-medium heat and fry the onion with a pinch of salt for 10-15 mins until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and fry for 1 min more. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
- STEP 2
Meanwhile, cook the pumpkin in a pan of boiling salted water for 10-15 mins until tender when pierced with a cutlery knife. Drain and tip into a blender (or use a hand blender). Blitz with 50ml milk and the onions until completely smooth, gradually adding more milk until the mixture is thick enough to just coat the back of a spoon (you may not need all the milk). Tip into a large frying pan with the tomato purée and mascarpone, and bring to a simmer over a low heat.
- STEP 3
Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water following pack instructions. Drain, reserving a cupful of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the pumpkin sauce, parmesan and 50-100ml of the reserved water to loosen. Season and scatter with extra parmesan.
Caramelised pear, rum & coconut crumble
Try this grown-up take on a crumble. Pears stand up well to a nutty crumble topping, while the rum cuts through the sweetness. Enjoy with clotted cream
Ingredients
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 6 ripe pears, peeled, halved and cored
- 100g light brown soft sugar
- 3 tbsp spiced rum
- 30g unsalted butter
For the topping
- 120g plain flour
- 80g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 40g light brown soft sugar
- 30g desiccated coconut
- 40g shaved coconut
- 40g almonds, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- clotted cream, to serve
Method
- STEP 1
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix the lemon juice and cornflour together in a small bowl. Tip this into a medium ovenproof dish with the pears, sugar and rum. Dot over the butter and bake for 20-25 mins until the pears are soft, tossing halfway through.
- STEP 2
For the topping, rub the flour and butter together in a bowl between your fingertips until the mixture is a coarse breadcrumb-like texture. Stir through the sugar, both types of coconut, the almonds, cinnamon and ½ tsp sea salt flakes. Spread the mixture over a baking tray and bake for 10-15 mins until golden and crunchy. Sprinkle the topping over the pears, then bake for another 10-15 mins. Leave to cool slightly, then serve warm in bowls with clotted cream.
Ingredients
- 2 x 410g cans apricots, drained
- 600g jar apricot compote (we used Bonne Maman)
- 200g plain flour
- 140g almond, with skins, chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 200g butter, diced
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g demerara sugar
- vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche, to serve
Method
- STEP 1
Mix the apricots and compote together in a big baking dish or 6-8 individual dishes. Mix the flour, nuts and cinnamon, then rub in the butter to form crumbs. Stir in the sugars, then sprinkle over the apricot mixture. You can now cover and leave this for up to 24 hrs.
- STEP 2
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 (or turn down the oven once the pie comes out). Bake for 40-45 mins until the crumble is crisp and golden, then serve with ice cream or crème fraîche.
Creamy pumpkin pasta