Pumpkin rigatoni with capsicum and feta

Looking for a pasta dish that's easy and banging with flavour? Try Steph de Sousa's rigatoni with a pumpkin, capsicum and feta sauce!

• serves

  5-6

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g feta
• ¼ of a Kent pumpkin
• 1 large red capsicum
• 1 medium brown onion, halved
• 1 head garlic, halved
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500 g rigatoni
• handful of walnuts, to garnish

Instructions

1. Pre heat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Remove skin and seeds from pumpkin. Dice flesh into 2 cm x 2cm squares and place them on the baking tray. Remove the core of the capsicum and slice it into larger chunks (as it is a softer vegetable and will therefore cook more quickly). Place on the baking tray with the pumpkin. Add onion and garlic to tray.
3. Now, place the block of feta cheese in the centre of the baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 45 minutes until vegetables are cooked and feta is soft.
5. While the vegetables and feta are cooking, cook pasta as per instructions on the packet (don’t overcook). Reserve some pasta water for the sauce and drain the remaining pasta. Set aside.
6. Once the vegetables are cooked, allow to cool down a bit. Squeeze the softened contents out of the garlic, discarding the skin, and add it to a blender jug along with the other vegetables and feta.
7. Add all the cooked vegetables to the jug. Add 2-3 ladles of the reserved pasta water to the jug and blend until smooth and creamy (or blend with a stick mixer).
8. Toast the walnuts on a pan or roast in the oven. Set aside.
9. Assemble the pasta by stirring the creamy sauce through the cooked pasta. Make sure the pasta is covered with the sauce.
10. Spoon the pasta into bowls and sprinkle over the toasted walnuts. Crack some Pepper on top before serving.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.