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.