Pumpkin, pasta & pesto

I keep thinking about bringing soup Monday to a close for the year and maybe moving to salad Monday. If you were in Wellington last Monday you will know why I didn't. We had the coldest day of winter. Temperatures didn't rise above 4 degrees! If it's cold in your town, try this delicious heartwarming pumpkin soup. Soften finely chopped onion (2), carrot, garlic (2), ginger (2 cm) in some olive oil with 1 tsp ground cumin & 1/2 tsp each cinnamon, turmeric & cayenne (maybe less cayenne if you're not a fan of spicy). Stir in a tin of tomatoes, 6 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock, 1 cup red lentils & about 800g pumpkin chopped into 2cm pieces. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat & simmer until the pumpkin is tender. Break up some of the pumpkin so that the soup is a rough lumpy texture. Season & serve with a dollop of sour cream & a pinch of cinnamon.

I have discovered a pasta recipe that I feel will become a regular at our table over summer. This week I made 2 versions - one for vegans & one for not. Both were delicious

For vegans blend a couple of handfuls of spinach leaves with a little olive oil & a handful of toasted pinenuts. You could use basil but I had lots of spinach. Genoese pesto for the non-vegan version. Put to one side.

Thinly slice lengthways one courgette per person with a vegetable peeler or mandolin & saute in olive oil. Steam a bunch of asparagus. Cook your favourite pasta according to the instructions. I used spaghetti for the vegans & egg tagliatelle for the non. Stir the sauces through the pastas, mix the courgette & asparagus and a chopped up avocado through both. Top the vegan one with breadcrumbs toasted in olive oil (often known as poor man's Parmesan) & the non version with Parmesan. Serve with a leafy green salad.