Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

Cooking time: 45mins

SERVES: 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 Onion (finely chopped)

2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)

500g Pumpkin or Butternut squash, peeled and cut into 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

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat and fry the onion with a pinch of salt until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and fry for 1 min more. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, roast your pumpkin at 170ºc for 40mins (or until fully tender). tip into a 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.

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.