Ingredients

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 30 min
Serves: 4

Chestnuts add a velvety richness to this light pumpkin sauce for your favourite pasta. Look for onion or butternut squash or the mighty Queensland Blue for best flavour.

600g pumpkin
200g cooked chestnuts
500ml chicken stock
1tbsp butter
Grated nutmeg
2tbsp grated parmesan
3 sage leaves, finely sliced
Sea salt and pepper
4 slices pancetta or bacon
400g spaghetti or tagliatelle METHOD

Peel the pumpkin and cut into 2cm cubes, discarding seeds. Combine with chestnuts, stock, salt and pepper in a saucepan, and simmer gently for 20min or until tender. Use a potato masher to coarsely mash the pumpkin to a purée. Add the butter, nutmeg, parmesan, salt, pepper and sage, tossing well. Grill or pan-fry the pancetta until crisp. Cook the pasta in plenty of simmering salted water until tender. Drain and toss lightly with the pumpkin sauce. Serve on four warmed pasta plates and scatter with crumbled pancetta and a few extra sage leaves.

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