Tortellini with pumpkin, brown butter and sage

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Put the pumpkin on a large baking tray with the thyme sprigs and sprinkle with the olive oil. Season generously with sea salt and ground black pepper, then roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until tender and caramelised at the edges. Once cooked, keep warm.
2. Towards the end of the pumpkin cooking time, bring a large pan of water to the boil and season generously with salt. Once boiling, add the tortellini and cook until tender but still with some bite. Drain and reserve a cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce.
3. While the pasta cooks, put a large heavy-based frying pan over a low-medium heat and add the butter. Add the hazelnuts to the pan, tossing to coat them evenly in the warm butter. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the hazelnuts have toasted. Stir in the sage leaves and allow to toast in the golden butter mix.
4. Toss the roasted pumpkin and tortellini into the pan, adding a splash of reserved pasta cooking water to loosen, if needed.
5. Serve the pasta on warmed plates. Crumble over some blue cheese along with a generous drizzle of the best quality extra virgin olive oil you have to hand. Finish with a sprinkle of salt and a grinding of black pepper.