Tortellini with roast pumpkin sauce

I’m not a fan of ‘hiding’ vegetables to be honest, but the kids just call this ‘orange tortellini’.

INGREDIENTS

350g pumpkin, peeled and cut into large cubes

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

500g store-bought cheese tortellini

20g unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

pinch nutmeg, freshly grated

300ml pouring cream

25g parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve

INGREDIENTS FOR ADULTS

handful baby spinach leaves

50g sharp blue cheese, crumbled

flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to serve

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 25–30 minutes, or until soft. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and purée in a food processor or blender. Set aside.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to the packet instructions. Reserve 125 ml of the cooking liquid before draining the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a frying pan over a medium–high heat. Sauté the onion until translucent, then add the pumpkin purée and nutmeg and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low–medium and stir the sauce continuously until it thickens slightly. Add the parmesan and cook for about 1 minute more. Remove from the heat.

DISH ONE

In a saucepan over a medium heat, combine half the tortellini with half the sauce and cook until the pasta is warmed through. If necessary, add some of the reserved cooking water to loosen. Divide among the kids’ serving bowls, top with extra parmesan and serve.

DISH TWO

Heat the remaining tortellini and sauce in the saucepan until the pasta is warmed through, then stir through the baby spinach until wilted. Sprinkle with the blue cheese and parsley and serve.

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