While I love making pasta myself and have such fond memories of making it with my grandchildren when they were young, I have to be honest and say that 9 times out of 10 my pasta will be from a packet. But that packet will be well chosen I usually have spelt and wholewheat pasta, something seductively Italian and a packet of fine egg noodles sitting in my larder. It’s great to see that there are some really good Australian dried pastas available now, and this simple pumpkin and sage mixture is the perfect way to show it off.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100 g) walnuts
- 400 g Queensland Blue or other ripe pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 2 cm x 3 cm pieces
- 120 ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons verjuice
- 3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 25 small sage leaves
- 250 g good-quality spelt pappardelle pasta
- 80 g Persian feta (optional)
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan-forced).
- Place the walnuts on a baking tray and cook for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted. Pour into a clean tea towel and rub off the skins while still warm. Stand until cool. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C (fan-forced).
- Place the pumpkin in a bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the rosemary and a good pinch of salt. Toss to coat well, then spread over a baking tray lined with baking paper. Roast for 25–30 minutes or until golden and tender. Drizzle with the verjuice and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, place ¾ cup (75 g) toasted walnuts, the parsley leaves, lemon juice, garlic, a good pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil in a high-powered blender and blend to a paste. With the motor running, gradually add another 3 tablespoons olive oil in a steady stream until well combined. Check the seasoning and consistency (you may need to thin the mixture with a little bit of water).
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the sage leaves and fry until crisp, turning once the sizzling has stopped on the first side. When the entire sage leaf is dark green and crisp, remove and drain on paper towel. Season with salt.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and stir to separate the strands, then cook for 6–8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and return to the pan, then drizzle with a little olive oil and toss to coat. Do not run it under water. Toss the walnut sauce through the hot pasta, then place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Top with the roasted pumpkin, crisp sage leaves, remaining toasted walnuts and feta, if using, and serve immediately.