Roasted Butternut and Bacon Tagliatelle

After surfing the net and searching through recipe books I couldn’t come across a bacon and butternut pasta recipe that interested me.  So I had a moment of inspiration and did my own thing.  The combination of the sweetness and softness of the butternut against the saltiness and the crispiness of the bacon is an absolute fantastic contrast combination which makes it so yummy.  I suppose you can experiment and add some extra stuff like sundried tomatoes, mushrooms or spinach.  My hubby absolutely loved this which was a surprise as the only pasta he loves is spaghetti and mince.  This is my first recipe that I’m actually posting that I created by myself. So here goes. Hope everyone likes it.

The Ingredients:

1 butternut peeled and diced into smallish blocks
6 Courgettes – sliced chunky
2 onions cut in half then sliced in thin half rings
4 cloves of garlic sliced in half length ways
250g smoked bacon
Good glug of olive oil
+-30 ml white balsamic vinegar
Pinch or two of chilli flakes
+- table spoon of brown sugar
Good pinch of dried thyme
Good sprinkle of dried parsley
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt
500 g tagatellie (pasta)
Feta cheese – for garnish

 Method behind my madness:

Preheat your oven to 220C.

Spread the butternut evenly across the baking tray.  Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butternut.  It just brings out the natural sweetness of the butternut. Making the butternut really flavoursome, gooey and caramelizey.   

Add the courgettes, “sprinkle the onions” on top of the butternut.  I absolutely love roasted garlic; it just brings so many flavors and depth to a dish.  I suppose you can add less if you are not a garlic fan.  

Add the garlic and the chili flakes.  (Just adds a little bite) Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat the vegetables evenly.  Sprinkle dried thyme (you can use fresh thyme I would say 2 sprigs would do – unfortunately I didn’t have any fresh herbs available) and the parsley.  Season with a good dose of freshly ground black pepper and a little sea salt. (Not too much salt as we will be using bacon and feta cheese – so just rather add a little).  One can always add extra salt if needed but it’s harder to fix an overly salted food.)

Drizzle white balsamic vinegar over. I prefer the white balsamic vinegar in this recipe as the vegetables retain their own colours and not of the balsamic vinegar. This just adds to flavour to the pasta – slightly sweet and tangy. Layer your bacon on top of the vegetables.  Seal with foil and bake for 30min in the oven.

Cook your pasta according to the instructions on your packet.  I used tagliatelle pasta.  It is nice to use fresh pasta, I used an egg based one that took only 4 min to cook.  Once your pasta is cooked give it a good drizzle of olive oil so that it is nicely coated.  This particular pasta is not very saucy and can be dry but if its nicely coated in olive oil it gives added flavor and a lovely texture.

Take your baking tray out of the oven and open the foil lid.  Test to see if the vegetables are tender.  If it’s tender stick it under the grill for another 10-15min.  The bacon will go nice and crispy and the vegetables will work its magic. 

Dish the pasta into your serving plate and add the roasted vegetable mixture on top. Take some lovely creamy feta cheese and crumble it on top. (You can add according to your own preference.)

Serve and enjoy immediately.