TUERONG FARM PASTA WITH PUMPKIN, SAGE AND HAZELNUT

This combination of all things autumn on the Peninsula came from a recipe idea by the English chef, Anna Jones. It’s a one pot affair – excluding cooking the pasta in a large pot of boiling water – so that means less mess, less washing up. From go to woe you can take the cooking pot to the table to serve within 30 minutes.

Serves 4

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup sage leaves, set aside half the leaves and finely chop the remaining leaves

1 leek, white part finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

800g pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

500ml vegetable or chicken stock

¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

50g finely grated parmesan, plus extra for serving

400g Tuerong Farm spiral pasta

4-6 freshly shelled hazelnuts

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large deep sided frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add half of the sage leaves and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until crisp. Quickly transfer to a plate lined with paper towel, to drain. Return the frying pan to the heat, and add remaining oil. Add the leek, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, until softened, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the pumpkin, chopped sage leaves and salt, stir to combine then pour in the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until pumpkin is very soft, about 15 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and parmesan. Using a potato masher, crush the mixture to a coarse textured puree. Season with a generous grinding of pepper and add extra salt if needed.

Meanwhile, bringa large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook as per packet instructions, until al dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup of cooking water. Transfer the pasta to the pumpkin mixture and gently stir to combine. Add some of the cooking water to thin the sauce if needed. Finely grate (a microplane is ideal) the hazelnuts over the top and scatter over the sage leaves. Serve immediately with extra parmesan passed around.

 Recipe by Fiona Hammond, May 2023