meatless monday .. roast pumpkin and sage pasta

Apparently meatless Monday will help save the planet. I am all for saving the planet and will do my bit .. (oops! just realised i had chicken for lunch.. will start next week!) 

SO tonight's dinner: Roast butternut pumpkin with sage ... and butter .. and parmesan

Ingredients:

1/4 of small butternut pumpkin 

two handfuls of pasta shells (or enough for 1 serve) 

6-7 fresh sage leaves

2 table spoons of pine nuts

a pinch of very finely chopped lemon rind ( i like to use a "pinch" as a measurement.. sounds very old school)

a drizzle of olive oil

large knob of butter - the larger the better - the smaller the healthier 

really good quality parmesan 

sea salt and freshly ground pepper 

Heat oven to 200℃

Heat water for pasta 

remove the skin/peel from the pumpkin and chop into small cubes (1 cm-ish )

place on a baking tray and drizzle with just enough oil.. toss about to coat well

pop the pumpkin cubes in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until cooked and browned very slightly **

once the water has come to boil add pasta and cook as per instructions on the packet

while the pasta is cooking.. 

wash the sage leaves and cut up into ribbons

grate the parmesan - i like LOTS

chop the lemon rind 

once the pasta is cooked - drain into a colander and set aside

place the saucepan back on the stove and reduce the heat to very low

add the butter to the pan with the sage leaves, lemon rind and pin nuts

stir, watching carefully to ensure the butter and pine nuts don't brown.. 

when the butter has turned slightly golden add the pumpkin and the pasta shells to the pan

mix gently to ensure the pasta is coated in the sagey butter and season with salt and pepper 

serve with lots of parmesan and eat immediately 

**try to avoid eating 1/2 a bag of corn chips while preparing this meal.. 

one lovely red vine ripened tomato..

I'll be out the next few nights, so there was no point doing a food shop. I just had to make do with what i had at home. Thankfully i had one bright red, perfectly ripe tomato.. still attached to it's green stalk..

Tonight's dinner:

ingredients:

one vine ripened tomato (only buy these.. they smell divine) 

lemon rind

one clove of garlic (two if you like.. 3 if you're like my friend who is a garlic freak!)

a table spoon of baby capers (rinsed if they are in salt)

olive oil

pasta* - enough for one person (i used curly fettucine, which probably has a fancy italian name too)

freshly ground pepper

sprinkle of sea salt

freshly grated parmesan 

bring water to boil in a large saucepan and add pasta (cook according to the instructions on the packet)

while the pasta is cooking, chop the tomato and drain off / squeeze out a bit of the excess juice

cut a very thin slice or two of rind off a lemon, and chop it up very finely

slice the clove(s) of garlic very thinly.. it is better sliced rather than crushed for this dish

chop the baby capers roughly 

empty the pasta into a colander and set aside 

place the empty saucepan back on the stove... add olive oil - enough to nearly cover the bottom of the pan.. (sorry not good with measurements..) 

heat the oil (medium heat should be fine after cooking the pasta)

add the garlic, capers and lemon rind and a small amount of the chopped tomato to the pan and stir to keep from sticking.. 

when the garlic seems to be cooked a bit, add the pasta back in and stir through. 

add the rest of the chopped tomato and stir through gently so that the tomato is warmed but not cooked

remove and serve with a lot of freshly ground pepper, a sprinkle of sea salt and the parmesan 

*pasta comes in all shapes and sizes. Try different kinds. Don't just stick to spaghetti.. for this dish the curly fettucine holds tomato and oil really well.