Winter Squash Penne

Get your ingredients out, have the kettle boiled, have a lidded casserole pan on a medium heat and a large lidded pan on a high heat, and a food processor (bowl blade) and stick blender to hand.

Make 500ml of hot stock with the cube, then refill and boil the kettle.

Trim the stalk off the squash, roughly chop the neck end (don't peel, and keep the seed end for another day), then blitz in the processor with the peeled onion, fennel seeds, dried chilli and sage leaves until combined.

Put into the casserole pan, add the stock, chickpeas and their juice, then put the lid on and stir regularly.

Put the pasta into the large pan, cover with boiling salted water and cook according to packet instructions.

On a large board, chop and mix up the tomatoes, cucumber, trimmed spring onions, lettuce and the top leafy half of the mint.

Squeeze and squidge over the avocado, discarding the skin and stone. Dress and toss with the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic, then season to taste and crumble over the feta.

Using a stick blender, blitz the sauce to your liking, season well to taste and finely grate in the Parmesan. Drain the pasta, toss with the sauce and season to taste. Serve scattered with chopped parsley leaves and an extra grating of Parmesan.