INGREDIENTS
360 g pasta shells
1 kg butternut squash pumpkin
8 garlic cloves
180 g feta cheese (I’ve used Bulgarian feta)
2 big handfuls baby spinach
1 handful walnuts
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
8 sprigs of thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Chilli flakes (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
2. Peel and chop butternut squash pumpkin into 2cm cubes and add to an oven safe dish.
3. Add garlic cloves in their skins, thyme leaves and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix all together so oil is covering all the ingredients.
4. Add the block of feta in the middle of the dish and place all the pumpkin mixture around it evenly.
5. Season the feta with thyme leaves and a drizzle of extra olive oil.
6. Put in the oven for 25 minutes until pumpkin is cooked and feta has softened.
7. When the pumpkin has 10 minutes left on the cooking time, start to cook the pasta in heavily salted water. As always, don’t forget to save some pasta water on the side.
8. Remove oven dish and gently peel garlic cloves from their skin. Using a fork, mash the garlic cloves in the same oven tray.
9. Break up the feta cheese and stir into the mixture.
10. Add spinach then top with the cooked pasta with a good splash of pasta water.
11. Mix together to create a beautiful creamy sauce. If it’s too thick or dry, add more pasta water.
12. Top with chilli flakes and crumbled walnuts right before serving so that they stay nice and crunchy.
credit: cookingwithayeh.com