Pasta - my ultimate comfort food

Sometimes, nothing but a bowl of steaming pasta will do.  And it's not just simple "pasta" - I crave a shape - macaroni has a brilliant squidgy texture, whilst tagliatelle is a smooth ribbony dream; for me, each shape is completely different.  Recently, I bought some lumaconi, which translated means snail shell.  It has a fabulous shape, and fills with whichever sauce you put with it.  It was this that I wanted, so the next step was to raid my cupboards to see what I had to go with it.

In my fridge I had a butternut squash, bacon and ricotta.  A match made in heaven to my mind.  Plus pasta?  Wow, this is turning into a scrummy meal.

Lumaconi with Butternut Squash, Bacon and Ricotta  (serves 2)

Half a butternut squash - I used the narrow top part, and this was ample

4 or 5 rashers of bacon

Tablespoon of Ricotta

Pasta - I guess the amount depends on how hungry you are!

1) Put a large pan of salted water onto boil.
2) Cut the bacon and squash into bitesize pieces
3) Heat a frying pan and add the bacon, once it has started to brown, add the butternut squash, season with pepper and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the squash is cooked and soft, but not soggy.
4) Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
5) Just before you drain the pasta, add the tablespoon of ricotta to the bacon and squash and stir until it starts to melt
6) Drain the pasta and mix together with the squash, bacon and ricotta.

I served this with plentiful amounts of shaved parmesan, and I gobbled the dish down shamefully fast.  Even Mr B was shocked!

I plan to roast the remaining butternut squash with some chicken another night.  Using my squash like this is quite unusual for me, I usually can't get past making butternut squash soup, which to my mind is liquid gold.  Another time...