These 3 B’s make for an amazing flavour combination in this pasta dish! You can prepare the butternut sauce ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to make the rest. Perfect for week night suppers when you don’t have much time.

Here’s what goes in:

1 onion roughly chopped

1kg diced butternut

1l vegetable stock

400ml pouring cream

2 sprigs of sage (more to garnish)

1 x 500g bag of your preferred pasta

2 packets of bacon, diced and fried until crispy

1 wedge of blue cheese, crumbled

Salt and pepper for seasoning

How to do it:

Bring the onion, butternut, stock, sprigs of sage (and some salt) to the boil until the butternut and onion are soft and completely cooked. During this process you should prepare the fried bacon and crumbled blue cheese.

Remove the sage completely and discard, then drain the vegetables and place them in a food processor. Pulse until you have a very smooth paste. Gradually add the cream and continue to pulse until you have a lovely thick sauce. At this point you should taste your sauce and add more seasoning as desired. I found it needed quite a bit of salt but bear in mind that the addition of crispy bacon and blue cheese later will add more saltiness and flavour. Keep your sauce warm or set aside to reheat later.

Boil the pasta according to the package instructions, always adding a good glug of olive oil and salt to the pot. When your pasta is ready, drain it and then place it in a large serving bowl. Immediately pour the warm pasta sauce over it. Mix well and add the toppings of crumbled blue cheese and crispy fried bacon. Garnish with sage leaves if desired – serve and enjoy!