This dish was born, as so many are, of ingredients that happened to be lying around. The squash—pumpkin—actually, was lounging around the wooden produce bowl, chatting up the onions and apples. The spinach leaves were chattering in the fridge, complaining of the damp and chilly turn the weather had taken. The bacon, of course, said nothing, as the hog it was made from had long since gone to piggy heaven. A box of spinach spaghetti called out from the cupboard, so as not to be excluded. “I know I’m green, and that’s a little weird for pasta, but you must’ve bought me with something tasty in mind,” he pleaded. True. No reason to discriminate against a noodle for being green. Pasta comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and every one is beautiful in its own way.
As my ingredients had taken the trouble to talk to me, I had no choice but to respond with pots and pans, a cutting board and a knife. What’s that, you think it’s violent and cruel to place a knife at the neck of a talking gourd? It’s not so much an act of violence as it is rearranging all the players for the play. A whole pumpkin is too big and haughty to share the stage with mere spinach leaves. But cut it down to size, say an inch and a half, and a squashy type becomes fast friends with delicately leafy spinach type folk. Bacon may not say much, but its smoky, crunchy presence is felt by all. Even green spaghetti is happier after boiling, its rigid, anxious strands now loose, and playful, and dancing. The grand finale is a pat of butter that bows to the audience as it melts on the hot pasta. “Ah!” sighs spaghetti, contentedly. And so do I, as I take a bite.
pasta with smoky sweet spinach and squash
pasta (enough for 2-3)
4 rashers streaky bacon
butter
1 small leek, split, washed and sliced into half coins (greens removed)
250 gr squash, cubed
3-4 handfuls fresh spinach leaves, washed and drained
allspice, salt, pepper to taste
maple syrup
- Cook the pasta per the instructions on the box.
- In a large cast-iron skillet, fry the bacon on low to medium heat. You want the bacon to slowly turn golden brown. Remove from the pan and put on a plate as soon as it has browned on both sides.
- Drain the bacon fat into a heat-proof container and save for a future use.
- Melt the butter in the skillet and add the leeks. Stir and cook until the leeks begin to turn golden.
- Add the squash and stir. Cover the pan for a few minutes so that the squash steams and begins to soften.
- While the squash cooks, crumble the bacon into small pieces.
- Uncover the pan after the squash softens.
- Season with allspice to taste.
- Add the spinach a handful at a time and stir.
- Pour in a small amount of maple syrup, about a teaspoon.
- Add the crumbled bacon and stir to incorporate. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 2-3
