Roast Pumpkin, Bacon & Pesto Pasta Salad with Feta and Basil

Ready in 45 minutes • Serves 4-5
This dish most recently appeared in My Gluten Free Bag on Sunday, February 11, 2018.

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This is a great meal for a picnic dinner! Cook up the whole dish in advance and serve cold, perfect for a summers night!

Ingredients

340g GF penne pasta
1 broccoli, cut into small florets and stalk roughly chopped1 brown onion, thinly sliced
250g GF short cut bacon, thinly sliced
½ cup GF chicken stock
1 courgette, grated
½ bag baby spinach
100g GF green parsley pesto
1 pottle sour cream
50g feta cheese

Preheat oven to 220°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Prepare ingredients. Toss pumpkin with honey and a drizzle of oil on prepared tray and season. Roast for about 15 minutes, until soft and caramelised.
While pumpkin is roasting, cook pasta in pot of boiling water for about 8 minutes. Add broccoli, bring to the boil again and cook a further 2 minutes, until both broccoli and pasta are just tender. Reserve ¼ cup of cooking water, then drain and return pasta and broccoli to pot.
While pasta is cooking, heat a drizzle of oil in a large fry-pan on medium-high heat. Cook onion and a pinch of salt, stirring, for about 4 minutes, until soft and starting to caramelise.
Add bacon to pan and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring, until golden. Add stock and bring to a simmer, scraping the pan to release any brownings. Simmer for about 1 minute then remove from heat.
Toss courgette, spinach, pesto, sour cream, honey roast pumpkin, and bacon and onion mixture through cooked pasta and broccoli. Crumble through first measure of feta and stir. Season to taste. If pasta is looking a little dry, stir through a little reserved pasta water.
To serve, spoon roast pumpkin, bacon and pesto pasta salad into bowls and crumble over remaining feta.