Pork, Squash & Mozzarella Pasta with a Pecan Crumb
This recipe is inspired by a vegetarian pasta dish I very much enjoyed at Lardo in London. I loved the flavours of sage, squash and mozzarella together with the crunch of nuts but I also thought those ingredients could be taken and developed to create a delicious meaty pasta dish too. This is now a firm favourite in my recipe repertoire and both tastes and looks impressive enough to be a dinner party dish. I have made this vegetarian friendly in the past by using veggie sausages too.
DIFFICULTY: 2/5
Serves 4
- 180g dried Pasta (you want a wider pasta shape such as Rigatoni or Conchiglie)
- 1/2 a large Butternut Squash, peeled
- 6 Sausages (the higher the meat content the better - plain or Italian flavoured sausages work best)
- 6 fresh Sage leaves
- 1 stick of fresh Rosemary
- 1 Red Onion
- 2 cloves of Garlic
- 1 Red Chilli, seeds removed
- 50g Pecans
- 1 Ball of Mozzarella
- Zest of 1/2 a Lemon
- 1tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to season
- Grating of fresh Parmesan to serve
Takes 10 minutes to prepare and 30minutes to cook
- Turn the oven on at 180degrees (fan) to heat up. Peel the butternut squash and chop it into bite sized chunks. Place in a roasting tray with 1tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper then pop into the oven
- Push the sausage meat out of their skins into a mixing bowl, discarding the skins. Roll the meat into small meatballs - you should get 12 meatballs from 6 sausages - and put aside.
- Finely chop or mince the red onion in a blender and chop the garlic, chilli, sage leaves and rosemary
- Blitz the pecans in a blender until they are finely chopped like a crumb
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan and when hot, add the onions. Cook for around 5minutes until soft, stirring frequently so they don't stick to the pan. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for another minute or two
- Put the pasta onto cook in a large pan of salted boiling water until al dente
- Next add the meatballs and continue to cook for 10minutes, or until they have started to brown on all sides, and add the chopped herbs and some black pepper
- Remove the squash from the oven (it should be soft but a little crispy on the outside) and add to the frying pan, stirring everything together
- Add the meatball mixture to the large pan of drained pasta and stir the chopped nuts in, keeping a large handful back. Pop this back on the heat then tear in the mozzarella and cook until the mozzarella begins to go stringy
- Lastly serve with the lemon zest, chopped nuts and some parmesan sprinkled over the top
