Creamy Pumpkin and Bacon Penne

I was about to ask if you’ve ever been stuck for ideas when it comes to dinner. But then I realised that was a silly question! Because we’ve all been there. No motivation. No forward planning. Only the contents of your fridge and pantry to work with.

Once upon a time, I would have told my hubby to pick up takeaway on the drive home from work. But then I bought a Thermomix, and everything changed.

This recipe came into being on one such night. I had pumpkin, and some bacon in the freezer. Google ‘pumpkin and bacon’ and you will find lots and lots of recipes for pasta. So… pasta it was!

Rather than baking or steaming pumpkin and having it whole, I decided to instead use it as the base for my sauce. The Thermomix went to work finely chopping and steaming the pumpkin while the pasta bubbled away underneath. Meanwhile, I browned up my bacon (from frozen) with onion and herbs.

For the sauce, I opted for chicken stock and cream (I almost always have cream in my fridge) and stirred through some baby spinach for some extra vegetable goodness.

If you need to bulk up this dish for some extra bodies, by all means add additional bacon.

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Creamy Pumpkin and Bacon Penne

Servings: 4-6 people

Author: Rebecca McAlister

Prep time: 5 MinCooking time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 Min

Ingredients

• 500g pumpkin, peeled and roughly chopped (3-4cm)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1200g water
• 320g pasta
• 4 rashers of bacon, roughly chopped
• 1 brown onion, sliced
• 3 sprigs fresh sage, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp chicken stock paste
• 100g water
• 250g pure cream
• 50-100g baby spinach
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Place garlic cloves into Thermomix bowl and chop 2 seconds/speed 8.
2. Peel and roughly chop 500g of pumpkin and place into Thermomix bowl with garlic.
3. Chop 5 seconds/speed 5. Then transfer garlic and pumpkin into Varoma dish. 
4. Without washing the bowl, measure in 1200g of water and place Varoma into position. 
5. Heat water 100 degrees/10 minutes/speed 1 (or until it reaches 100 degrees).
6. Meanwhile, chop onion, bacon and herbs and fry in a pan with a little oil until brown and crisp.
7. Once water has boiled, set Varoma aside and weigh in 320g of penne pasta. Give the pumpkin a little stir, and return Varoma to its position.
8. Cook pasta for 12 minutes/100 degrees/speed 1 (or, the time indicated on the packet). During this time, the pumpkin will also cook through. 
9. Once penne and pumpkin are cooked, set Varoma aside and drain the pasta, then place into your serving bowl or a ThermoServer. 
10. Return cooked pumpkin to the Thermomix bowl, add stock paste, water, cream and some cracked pepper and blend 10 seconds/speed 8.
11. Heat the sauce 5 minutes/100 degrees/speed 2 then add baby spinach and stir through, using your spatula. 
12. Pour sauce over pasta, stirring to combine, then top with your crispy bacon and herbs.

Tools and Equipment

1. Heavy based frying pan
2. Large serving bowl, or ThermoServer

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