If you are cooking for a crowd of enthusiastic eaters then this is an easy, economical and appetising dish. Actually it would make an excellent addition to a casual lunch party spread. Aside from being flavoursome, this simple pasta dish is packed with nutrients including vitamins A and C, energy rich carbohydrates, dairy, protein and iron. 

My children polished off generous servings topped with freshly grated parmesan. I did feed them lunch earlier in the day. In fact a very wholesome and satisfying lunch of Little Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Passata with Steamed Rice. Despite polishing off the lot, by four o’clock they were already asking, “What’s for dinner?” Gosh, there are days when I would like to be the one asking that question!

Flavoursome and Filling Thursday Night Pasta
This will serve 10 -12 people. You can halve the quantities if cooking for fewer people.

800 grams pasta – I used penne, but spiral shaped pasta would also work well as the sauce would cling to each piece.
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
half a bunch of garlic flowers or 4 plump cloves of garlic, crushed
200 g pancetta finely diced
1 kg chicken tenderloins, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 x punnet of the smallest, sweetest grape or cherry tomatoes you can find
150 g loose English spinach leaves, washed and patted dry
600 g roasted pumpkin, diced into bite sized pieces – see note for preparation
sea salt and black pepper to taste

*Prepare the pumpkin
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fanforced. Place the diced pumpkin into an ovenproof baking dish, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour over the maple syrup. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes.

While the pumpkin is roasting, put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta and prepare the remaining ingredients. Heat up the olive oil in a large pot or frypan and over a medium heat, gently pan fry the garlic/garlic flowers, pancetta and chicken.

Once the chicken turns opaque and starts to brown, add the tomatoes and continue to cook for another couple of minutes. Add the spinach and gently combine until it starts to wilt.
Season with salt and a good grind of pepper. Remove from the heat once the chicken has cooked through.

When the pumpkin is cooked, toss this gently through the chicken/veg combination.

As soon as the pasta is ready, combine everything in a large serving bowl, grating in a decent amount of good quality, aged parmesan.

This is lovely served with a fresh, crisp salad.