Weekend Foodie: Butternut squash and smoky bacon pasta for an autumnal feast
Butternut squash plays a starring role in Dianne Curtin’s Weekend Foodie recipe this weekend.
Butternut squash is the epitome of autumn feasting. It echoes the colours of the leaves as they fall from the trees this time of year. And it reminds us of the harvest and all the fantastic local produce we reap this season.
I have a big thing for butternut squash! It’s so versatile, for soups, risottos and even just roasted in wedges as a side veggie for a main course. In this weekend’s recipe, it plays a starring role with smoked bacon in a simple pasta dish from my archives. I’ve used twisty fusilli pasta here as the dressing clings onto the corkscrew pasta. You could also use penne. A good dry cured smoked bacon is recommended for this as it gives intense flavour and the aromas of bonfires which mark the autumnal season. For pudding, seasonal Irish apples in a kind of Eve’s pudding dessert is given a new slant with the addition of slices of Mars Bar on top. Yes, it’s indulgent - but why not?! Custard is a great go with for this, but ice cream also works well.
- 1 medium butternut squash, seeded, peeled and in chunks
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 350g fusilli or penne pasta
- Few basil leaves, chopped
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve
- For the dressing:
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 rashers smoked bacon, chopped
- 2-3 fat cloves garlic (to taste), peeled and crushed
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- Pinch dried red chilli flakes
- ½ tsp dried oregano
Method
- Place the squash flesh in a roasting tray. Drizzle with oil and season. Roast in a pre-heated oven Gas 5 375F 190C for 20 minutes or until soft and caramelised. Turn occasionally to prevent burning.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water till just al dente.
- Drain, drizzle with olive oil and keep hot.
- When the squash and pasta are ready, heat a splash of olive oil from the dressing recipe in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the bacon and cook crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a kitchen towel. Reserve.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the pan with garlic, chilli and oregano. Cook for a minute, stirring.
- Add the squash and cooked pasta and toss to coat in the mix. Season.
- Sprinkle in the bacon and chopped basil.
- Stir and serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top.
- 175g butter, softened
- 175g sugar
- 3 fresh free range eggs, beaten
- 175g self-raising flour sifted with 1 tsp baking powder
- Finely grated zest of a lemon
- Good squeeze lemon juice
- Splash of milk
- 3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 Mars Bar, thinly sliced.
- Chopped pistachios for decoration
- Whisk butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
- Whisk in eggs, a little at a time, with alternate spoons of flour mix.
- When all the egg is added, fold in remaining flour to combine.
- Add lemon zest and juice, and gently fold through the sponge.
- If necessary, add a splash of milk to make a soft, dropping consistency.
- Arrange apples in the bases of six buttered ramekins or one large one.
- Fill ramekins with sponge mix, leaving a little space at the top for them to rise. Level surfaces. Tap the ramekins on a worktop to knock out air bubbles.
- Pop slices of Mars Bar on top, if using.
- Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake in a pre-heated oven, Gas 4 350F 180C for 15 minutes or until risen and firm to the touch.
- Remove and cool slightly. Serve with custard.
This hearty main course needs a lovely red wine to go with it. Dunnes Stores has some great offers on wines from all over the world at the moment, with bargains to be had. I’ve found a great Italian red to go with this pasta dish. Dunnes Stores Simply Better Primitivo is one of the brand’s own range, especially selected for Dunnes. The Primitivo grape is also known as Zinfandel in California, which you may be more familiar with in red wines. In Italy, it produces smooth and velvety red wines with lots of upfront dark berry fruit and even a hint of dark chocolate in the mix. This will warm the cockles and pair well with the smoky flavours of the bacon and the sweetness of the squash. A great find at just €10.00 a bottle till September 16- plenty of time to stock up!
Butternut squash: €1.19
Fusilli pasta 400g: €1.50
Extra virgin olive oil 1ltr: €5.69
Dry cured smoked bacon 200g pack: €2.99
Garlic x 3pce: 99c
Chilli pack 65g: €1.00
Total: €13.36
Irish apples x 6pce: €2.49
Free range eggs half dozen: €1.95
Butter 227g: €2.39
Self-raising flour 2kg: €2.49
Baking powder 170g: €2.05
Mars bar x 5pce: €4.00
Total: €15.37
App?
