Maple Pumpkin & Chicken Warm Pasta Salad

Serves 4

I have some lovely sweets lined up to share, but each month the cold winter inspires me to share something hot and filling. This is a dish that I mixed up from a salad and a pasta, to make a warm pasta salad! It was perfect on a cold winter’s night.

Step One:

¼ Pumpkin, skinned and cut into small cubes

3 tbsps maple syrup

½ cup olive oil

Salt

Heat oven to 220 degrees. Spread all ingredients into a large baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until pumpkin has browned.

Step Two:

2 Chicken breasts, skinned and sliced in half to make thinner pieces

Flavouring

Salt and pepper

Coat chicken in your favourite flavouring, ie; pesto, coriander herb paste, Cajun spice, salt and pepper, curry etc. Place on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet and bake at 220 °C for 15 minutes, until cooked through. Putting it in the oven while the pumpkin is cooking is fine. Remove from the oven and chop into cubes.

Step Three:

400g twist pasta

Place pasta in a large pot of boiling water with a little salt and olive oil. Boil for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain.

Step Four:

 2 Zucchini

Olive oil

1 clove crushed Garlic

Salt and pepper

Slice zucchini thinly lengthwise. Fry in a small amount of olive oil with the garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Final Step:

2 cups Baby spinach

1 x 250g pkt Ricotta cheese

3 tbsps Parmesan cheese

Cooked pasta (above)

Chicken (above)

Zucchini (above)

Salt and pepper

Pumpkin (above)

Grated cheddar/mozzarella  cheese

In a bowl place the first 7 ingredients and mix well. Lastly add the pumpkin and gently fold into the mixture. Serve immediately. 

Option: sprinkle with cheese and grill for 4-5 mins on high until cheese has browned on top.