Coming next week....

The best ever chicken and mushroom pie and peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies! 

Butternut Squash Pasta Parcels with Sage and Pine Nuts.

This recipe, I should say, is vegan, you can easily make it vegetarian by substituting butter for oil and adding a bit of parmesan cheese in the end. Every year I try to go on a little detox and this pasta is great when I feel a bit "naughty" , as I do prefer it pan fried, for a healthier option you can steam it! The pasta recipe is ever so simple, all you need is flour and warm water and a drop of oil, in Russia we use it for the traditional pelemeni (meat parcels) recipe.

 Here we go.

200 gr plain flour

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup warm water

pinch of sea salt

 Put all ingredients together in a bowl and mix well, don't be afraid to use your hands. You should end up with a nice glossy ball of stretchy pasta, add more water or flour if needed when mixing.

Cover it with the cling film and let it rest for a while.

Now is the time to make a filling.

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

400 gr of butternut squash

a pinch of nutmeg

a pinch of salt

1 tbsp of olive oil

Brown the onion and the garlic, add diced butternut squash , sprinkle with nutmeg ans salt , cover the pan cook till the squash is soft . Mash it all up with a fork , and the filling is ready.

Roll out the pasta (or use the pasta machine if you wish), and cut out the medium size circles. I use a mug to do it, really reminds me of my childhood, but I'm sure there are some gadgets out there now to simplify the process.

Wet your hands and get busy making pasta parcels!

Heat up some oil in the pan and slightly fry the parcels on both sides till golden. Whilst the pasta is cooking make the sauce:chop up some sage , squeeze a juice of 1/2 lemon and add a splash of olive oil in a bowl, give it a good stir.

Serve the parcels with the sauce and toasted pine nuts! Enjoy!