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Roast Pumpkin & Capsicum Pasta Salad with Bacon

*This is a recipe I made up to take with me to a family dinner.  It was a big hit!  It is very creamy - if you like your salads to have more of a tangy flavour, I would suggest using a tangy mayonnaise instead of the one in the recipe, and I would also suggest reducing the sour cream (making up the difference with mayonnaise) or adding more vinegar.  This recipe is very versatile and can be easily changed in multiple ways to suit your tastes*

350g (12oz) uncooked pasta (I chose small shells, but you could use any kind you prefer)
1 large capsicum (bell pepper), cut in strips
600g (21oz) diced butternut pumpkin (you could try another pumpkin if you don't have butternut, but I can't guarantee it will taste as nice!)
olive oil
250g (9oz) diced bacon
1 large brown onion, chopped finely

Dressing:
2/3 cup creamy whole egg mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 200ºC (390ºF).  Grease a baking tray.
Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions.  When the pasta is done, rinse it under cold water and set aside.
Place pumpkin and capsicum on baking tray, and lightly brush with olive oil.  Roast in oven 30 minutes or until vegetables are just done.
Meanwhile, fry bacon and onion together until onion is soft and bacon is browning.
When done, combine all ingredients together with dressing.
To make Dressing:
Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Can be served warm or refrigerated and served cold. Refrigerate leftovers.

Serves 6 (if using as main part of the meal.  If using as a side dish, this salad will serve about 8)

Comments

Nomad said…
Hey, Clara!

This recipe sounds good! I commented a WHILE ago... I'm the missionary in Zambia who has fellow missionary friends who are from Australia and I wanted to try some of your recipes on them. (Lo-ong introduction!) Well, we FINALLY have an oven, so I can cook baked recipes... can you send link or titles or something to me to help me figure would what would be a taste of home to them? They are on a low dairy diet, but I'm sure a special dinner would be nice! I couldn't find an email address on your page to send this to, so I'll just give you my address here. zambia@opbbc.org Thanks!

~Lisa
Leigha said…
This sounds delicious! I might have to try to make this...although I feel silly for asking, what is capsicum and where can I get it??
Clara said…
I'm sorry, Leigha, usually I write in parenthesis what the US term is for things... capsicum is bell pepper. :)
Leigha said…
Okay, I can definitely find bell peppers! :)

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