My favourite spaghetti dish in the autumn.

This simple spaghetti is perfect for autumn with the addition of the amazing butternut squash. Use a simple, sweeter pasta sauce and you will quickly make a delicious meal. If you’re cooking for two, you only use half of a butternut squash, and I often use the other half in a soup (like this one where I replace the carrot with butternut squash).

I originally found this dish in a Lidl flyer, but as I often do I adapted it to make it completely vegetarian, and possibly even 100% vegan (if you don’t use feta as a garnish).

You will use vegetarian bacon in this dish. There are several options for this these days, and it doesn’t really matter which one you use for this dish. We often use THIS ISN’T BACON (only available in the United Kingdom, where I currently live) or the Vivera bacon, which we season with some pepper (more widely available in the Netherlands, where I am from). The Vegetarian Butcher has also recently released a new product that would also fit well in this dish, namely Specktakel but this doesn’t seem to be available yet in the UK.

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Pumpkin spaghetti

10 minutes preparation + 20 minutes cooking (in the oven) — serves 2

• 1 onion
• 0.5 butternut squash
• 200 grams spaghetti
• 125 grams fresh spinach
• 275 grams stir in pasta sauce (sweet pepper / grilled vegetables / basil)
• Salt and pepper
• Oil
• Optional: feta as garnish

1. Dice the onion.
2. Peel the butternut squash and cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces.
3. Boil a liter of water in a kettle.
4. Cook the spaghetti in a pot with the pre-boiled water and a pinch of salt in c. 10-12 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
5. Prepare the bacon: If using slices of vegetarian bacon, cut them into bite-sized pieces. If using smaller bacon pieces, season with half a tablespoon of pepper (mix the bacon with the spices).

6. Place the pumpkin in a microwaveable bowl and cover with 4 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook for c. 6-8 minutes in the microwave. Drain carefully. Make sure the pumpkin is cooked so you can pierce it with a fork before draining.
7. Heat some oil in a pan and once hot, add the bacon. Fry for c. 8 minutes until crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
8. Add some extra oil to the pan and fry the onion for c. 6 minutes until translucent.
9. Add the bacon and pumpkin to the pan and cook for a further 2 minutes.
10. Add the spinach to the pan and let it wilt.
11. Add the pasta sauce and cooked spaghetti to the pan. Mix well and let it heat through for a minute or two.

12. Serve the spaghetti immediately, crumbling over the feta as garnish if using.

Enjoy your meal!

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Leave a comment below if you made this recipe, and let me know what you think. Tips and feedback to improve the recipe are always welcome too!