(Feeds 4, takes 15-20 minutes)

Ingredients

1 Small or Half a Medium Butternut Squash or Small Pumpkin
1 Medium Onion
200g (approx) Mushrooms (any sort)
4 tablespoons of Vegan Pesto Sauce or freshly chopped Basil
400g Pasta (Fusilli)
2 tablespoons Virgin Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh Chives (optional)

Instructions

1. Put about 1.5 litres of water on to boil with a teaspoon of salt added.
2. While waiting for it to boil, chop the squash in half and scrape the seeds out with a spoon. Set these aside. Slice/dice up the rest of the squash, aiming for flat lozenges about 5mm thick (leaving the skin on is optional), and set it aside.
3. When the water boils add the pasta and turn down to simmer. It should be possible to prepare the rest of the dish in the time it takes to cook the pasta.
4. Put a tablespoon of olive oil on to heat in a shallow frying pan that is large enough to contain all the remaining ingredients when chopped.
5.  Dump the seeds into the hot frying pan and turn up the heat – you are aiming to give those seeds a good toasting (they will still be connected to the stringy flesh but don’t worry).
6. Stir and toss the seeds occasionally, browning them, while chopping up the other ingredients and adding them to the pan in this order: Onion (diced), mushrooms (sliced).
7. After adding the mushrooms turn the heat down again to a moderate temperature, the seeds should be a little toasted, the onions sweaty and slightly golden. Add a further tablespoon of olive oil which will cool and moisten the pan a little.
8. Tip in the sliced squash and stir it in to the mix. Add chives if you are using them and let it all fry together for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You are aiming for those pieces of squash to soften on the outside but keep some bite in the middle.
9. Check your pasta and give it a couple more minutes if it is still “al-dente” – this recipe works best if the pasta is cooked to soft as it is the seeds and the squash that will be providing the textured “bite” in the dish.
10. Once the pasta is done take it off the heat and drain, empty into a bowl and stir in the basil or pesto to evenly coat it. Quickly add the contents of the frying pan and stir these well into the pasta before serving straight away.