upper-end of the pasta dish spectrum

pasta dishes exist, at least in my books, on a spectrum of boring to wonderful.
this particular dish fell on the upper end of the scale.
i'm a big fan of non-creamy pasta dishes, which makes making pasta all the more of a pleasure because it is super-easy and very amenable to anything and everything that may exist in your fridge or pantry.

so....
i roasted slices of pumpkin, parsnip and baby beets with 6 whole cloves of garlic (ie, in their skins) until brownish. for this, i coated them in olive oil + pepper + garlic powder. i usually tuck the garlic a little under the other bits & pieces, so that it doesn't burn (bitter - ugh) - they need to caramelise.

i sauteed red onion (cut it into wedges) and mushrooms (a variety of button, portobello and swiss) in a wok until juicy and delicious (you need to add some salt and a dash of water (not too much - the juiciness needs to be real not soggy!)). towards the end, i threw in half a cup of fresh peas for a minute or so. the mixture of juices and the softness of the pumpkin will coat the pasta well in the next step...

i alway prepare the pasta within the final timeframe before sitting down to eat. once it is drained (i used penne this time, but orecchiete or farfalle would be good too), i pop it into a big dish or pot, drizzle olive oil over it, and then throw in the other ingredients (make sure these ingredients are still hot or at least warm). give it a good mix and fold crumbled fetta through.

serve while hot-warm with a glass of red...


still no photos... from next week on!