Description
This creamy vegetarian pumpkin pasta bake is a delightful and hearty dish that combines the sweetness of pumpkin with the richness of cream and cheese, all baked to perfection. A perfect comfort food for a cozy dinner at home.
Ingredients
Pumpkin:
- 1.8kg Kent pumpkin, peeled, diced into 1.5cm pieces
Pasta:
- 500g dried rigatoni pasta
Sauce:
- 50g butter, chopped
- 1 large brown onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp vegetable stock powder
- 300ml thickened cream
- 1 1/3 cups milk
- 1 cup finely grated parmesan (or vegetarian hard cheese)
- 1 cup chopped kale
Toppings:
- 200g Coles Laurent Pane Di Casa bread, crust discarded, chopped
- 2 tbsp pepitas
- 8 cherry bocconcini
- Olive oil spray
Salad:
- Mixed salad, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan-forced. Grease and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Grease a large baking dish.
- Roast Pumpkin: Place pumpkin on prepared tray. Spray with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.
- Cook Pasta: Cook pasta following packet directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
- Prepare Sauce: Melt butter in a large deep ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring for 6 minutes or until onion softens. Add spices, stock powder, cream, and milk. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Blend Sauce: Process 3/4 of the roasted pumpkin and cream mixture in a food processor until smooth. Combine with pasta, cheese, kale, and remaining pumpkin. Season and place in baking dish.
- Prepare Topping: Process bread into crumbs. Combine with pepitas and cheese. Sprinkle over pasta. Top with bocconcini. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Serve with salad.
Notes
- You can customize the dish by adding your favorite herbs or spices to the sauce.
- Feel free to substitute any of the cheeses with your preferred type.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated for a delicious meal the next day.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 480 kcal
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 620mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 58g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 14g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
