5 Delicious Pasta Dinners to Cozy Up To This Fall

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Arrange the chopped root veggies in a single layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (Feel free to use sweet potatoes or parsnips, or a combo of both - your call!) Drizzle generously with olive oil and maple syrup, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly, then bake sweet potato for 30 minutes until fork-tender and golden. 

2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet on medium-high with an extra teaspoon of olive oil. Pan-fry the chicken apple sausages until bronzed and crisp, turning frequently. (If you're using fully-cooked sausages, they'll just need a quick sear on all sides to give them a golden crust. For fresh raw sausages, refer to the package directions to ensure proper cooking all the way through.)

3. Using tongs, transfer the cooked sausages to a chopping board. When cool enough to handle, carefully slice sausages into ½ in diagonal rounds. Cover and set aside to keep warm while you cook the pasta and finish roasting the sweet potatoes.

4. Next, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Save 1 cup of pasta cooking water before draining.

5. In a separate mug, combine the butter, hot chicken or veggie broth, honey, mustard, thyme leaves and onion powder. Stir until the butter melts, then set aside.

6. Drain the pasta and return to the hot pot over a low heat. Quickly pour the butter and broth mixture over the pasta, then add the maple-roasted sweet potato cubes and sausage slices. Stir everything together, adding a few spoonfuls of the reserved pasta cooking water as you go. Continue stirring gently until the liquid is absorbed and forms a glossy, fragrant sauce, adding an extra knob of butter if desired. Check for seasoning, then gently fold through the arugula just before serving.

8. To serve, scatter generously with shredded parmesan and toasted pepitas for crunch.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the cubed squash in a single layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle generously with oil, sprinkle over the nutmeg, then season with salt and pepper. Toss until evenly coated, then space out the squash cubes so there's a little gap between each - this ensures each cube will caramelize nicely in the oven.

2. Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the squash is tender and golden brown. For best results, gently flip the cubes over after 20 minutes to ensure even browning on all sides.

3. While the squash is roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil for the pasta, and prepare the infused butter sauce.

4. To make the crispy sage brown butter, heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Melt the butter along with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, then add the sage leaves. Frequently swirling the pan, cook until the sage leaves wilt slightly. Once the butter smells nutty, turns dark golden and some flecks start appearing on the bottom of the pan, immediately remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.

5. Using tongs, carefully remove the sage leaves from the browned butter with tongs, laying them out on paper towel-lined plate. (They'll crisp up as they cool, so don't panic if they seem soggy now!)  Set aside the frypan with the sage-infused brown butter, keeping it warm to toss through the cooked pasta later.

6. Cook the pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of starchy cooking water before draining. Meanwhile, remove the squash from the oven once it's deeply golden, fork-tender and starting to caramelize in spots.

7. Next, drain the cooked pasta. Return it back to the hot pot and quickly pour over the sage-infused browned butter. Add half the roasted squash cubes and stir gently until combined, adding spoonfuls of reserved cooking water to bring everything together and coat the pasta evenly with sage butter.

8. Pour pasta into a serving dish and top with the remaining cubes of roasted squash. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese and chopped hazelnuts, then scatter over the crispy sage leaves to finish.

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, and heat a heavy-based frypan over medium heat.

2. Heat the olive oil in the frypan and sauté shallots for 5 minutes until translucent. Crank up the heat and tumble in the chopped mushrooms with a pinch of salt (truffle salt if you're a fan like us), then cook over high heat without stirring for 6 minutes. Once the mushrooms turn golden and caramelized, reduce heat. Add in the butter, then sprinkle over the garlic and thyme leaves. Stirring frequently, sauté until the garlic is fragrant and mushrooms are tender, around 5 minutes. Season to taste, then set aside half the mushrooms on a warm plate for serving.

3. Next, scatter the flour over the buttery garlic mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 1 minute until mushrooms are evenly coated. Carefully pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan. Once sizzling, add the veggie broth, balsamic and Worcestershire, bringing to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently until sauce has thickened.

4. While the mushroom sauce cooks, boil pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot, saving 1 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water. 

5. Finally, stir the heavy cream through the mushroom mixture and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and gently toss with the cooked pasta and half the parsley, adding some spoonfuls of reserved pasta water to form a luscious, velvety sauce.

6. To serve, top pasta with a generous grating of parmesan, followed by the reserved mushrooms. Sprinkle over the rest of the parsley and plenty of cracked black pepper,  with a drizzle of truffle oil if you feel like spoiling yourself!

1. Pat the short ribs dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-based dutch oven or cast iron pot. Working in batches if necessary, sear the short ribs on all sides to seal the meat and achieve a nice golden crust, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer them to your slow cooker. 

2. In the same pot, add another tablespoon of oil and fry the pancetta cubes until crisp, around 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and toss in the chopped onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Gently saute for 5 minutes until veggies are slightly softened and pancetta is cooked through, scraping up any bits stuck to the base of the pan. 

3. Reduce the heat to low and add the tomato paste, sauteing for a further minute before sprinkling over the flour. Stir to coat veggies evenly with flour mixture, then pour in the red wine, beef broth, canned crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and dried herbs. Season generously to taste. 

4. Next, transfer the vegetable sauce to the slow cooker, pouring it over the top of the seared short ribs. Cover, set the slow cooker temperature on low, and cook for around 6 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falling off the bone (depending on your slow cooker, you may need to add another hour to the total cook time, we recommend taking a peek at the 5½ hour mark to see if it's getting close!)

5. When the ribs are done, transfer them to a chopping board and shred the meat with two forks - it should be juicy, tender and falling off the bone. Discard the bones and return the shredded meat to the slow cooker, stirring to combine with the vegetable ragu. Remove the bay leaves, season to taste, and switch the slow cooker to the keep-warm setting while you cook the pasta.

6. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta to al dente, saving a cup of the starchy cooking water before draining. 

7. Drain the cooked pasta and immediately combine with the braised short rib ragu, stirring gently with a few spoons of the pasta cooking water to distribute the rich, meaty sauce through the pasta.

8. Serve immediately, topped with extra parmesan and chopped parsley for a decadent and delicious pasta dish sure to impress. 

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Arrange the sweet potato cubes, broccoli florets and bacon (if using) on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Season to taste and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 25-35 minutes until veggies are fork-tender and bacon cooked through. 

2. While the veggies are baking, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander and briefly rinse with cool water.

3. Transfer the cooked pasta to a large bowl. Add the chopped shallots, shredded kale and dried cranberries, then drizzle over the poppyseed dressing (see method below for homemade dressing). Stir until thoroughly combined, then set aside in the fridge. 

For the Homemade Poppyseed Dressing:  Combine all ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake until combined. Refrigerate any unused dressing for up to 1 week. 

4. When the veggies are golden-roasted and caramelized, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Once cooled to room temperature, gently fold the broccoli, bacon and sweet potato mixture through the pasta. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight (if you can wait that long!) 

5. Just before you're ready to serve, stir half the maple-glazed pecans and pine nuts through the pasta, adding a dash more poppyseed dressing or a splash of milk if the salad looks a bit dry. 

6. To serve, pile into an elegant serving dish and scatter with the remaining pecans and pine nuts. Crumble over the feta cheese and drizzle with a little extra olive oil, then dig in!