Spelt, lentil and quinoa penne with pumpkin and leek hummus

Recipe by Alexandra Pavani

Spelt, lentil and quinoa penne with pumpkin and roasted leek hummus is an easy first course to prepare. In a few steps, even if you don’t love spending too much time in the kitchen, you will obtain a tasty and flavourful pumpkin and leek cream, perfect for an alternative way of dressing a plate of pasta.

The pumpkin, the unrivalled queen of autumn, is the star of this dish. How do you cook and obtain a soft pulp without too much effort? Simply cut it into two parts, remove the stringy portion and the seeds, and place it on a baking sheet. Drizzle oil on the pulp, add garlic and rosemary to add fragrance and place in the oven. The pumpkin is ready when you can easily poke the pulp with a fork. See how easy that is?

Absolutely do not consider pumpkin seeds as waste and do not throw them away, as they contain beneficial properties for our body and can turn into a healthy snack or used in the kitchen in other ways.

How can you recycle pumpkin seeds?

Immerse them in a recipient full of water and wash them by removing every trace of pulp and strings. Then remove them from the water and dry them well. Once you have done so, place them on a baking tray and put them in the oven to toast them, with or without salt, based on your preference.

For a kid-friendly version of this dish, use hulled chick peas, or normal ones and remove the hull yourself. How? By simply removing the peel from each one. If you are preparing this type of pasta for children in their weaning stage (as I am) remember to serve it cut into safe sized pieces, i.e. crosswise.

Which pasta is a good match for this type of sauce?

We suggest spelt, lentil and quinoa penne from the Sgambaro Pasta Organic Line: “A grain, a pulse and a herbaceous plant: strength in numbers! With the right amount of proteins and a low glycaemic index, it brings excellent nutritional values and authentic natural flavour to the table, for an enjoyable and dynamic life” (from the sgambaro.it website)

These penne are ideal: they will be perfectly enveloped by the creamy pumpkin and leek hummus. You must try it!

Check out other recipes to try with Sgambaro Pasta:

Pureed soup of peas with conchigliette
Kamut farfalle with carrot leaf pesto

Ingredients (serves 4)

160 g di Sgambaro Organic Label spelt lentil and quinoa penne

2 leeks

1 Hokkaido squash

200 g cooked and strained chick peas

2 tablespoons of tahini

2 cloves of garlic

Rosemary

Juice of half a lemon

Mixes seeds

Extra virgin olive oil and salt

Preparation

Take the pumpkin, wash it, cut it into two halves and remove the seeds and the stringy portion. Place the two halves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush the inside with oil and place a crushed clove of garlic and rosemary stem on each one. Place it in the oven – preheated and in static mode – at 200 degrees for 40/45 minutes (the cooking time depends on the size of the pumpkin. To check whether it is ready, poke it with a fork: if it goes in easily, it’s ready!).

20 minutes after cooking put another baking sheet of coarsely cut leeks in the oven. Drizzle with oil and a pinch of salt.

When the pumpkin is ready, scrape out the pulp with a spoon and place it in the blender cup with the roasted leeks, the chickpeas, the tahini, the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and blend to obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture. Add 1-2 spoonfuls of water, if necessary, to blend it better.

Fill a large pasta pot with water. When the water starts boiling add salt and the Penne. Cook for 8 minutes, take out half a glass of cooking water, then strain it and dress with the pumpkin hummus.

To make it creamier, gradually add the pasta cooking water. Finish it with a sprinkling of mixed seeds. Enjoy your meal!

If you have tried this recipe, leave a comment below or write about it on my Facebook or Pasta Sgambaro’s page. If instead you choose to publish the photo of your masterpiece on Instagram, remember to tag me @glicerinia and add the #diversamentelatte hashtag to make sure I won’t miss a single post! 

Alexandra Pavani (@diversamentelatte)

Mum and foodblogger specialised in lactose-free dishes

 

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