200g diced butternut squash
100g mixed mushrooms
100g Romanesco broccoli florets
200g baby spinach leaves
3 shallots
200g Sardinian fregula pasta
5cl white wine
Water or chicken broth
2 garlic cloves
40g unsalted butter
Olive oil
30g freshly grated Parmesan
Basil
30g pumpkin seeds

For the Sauce:

½ onion
Olive oil
200g Parmesan cheese
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
2 bay leaves
250ml milk
250ml double cream
250ml meat or vegetable stock
Salt
Espelette pepper

The Fregula:

Step 1

Finely chop 3 shallots and sauté them in olive oil without browning. Add 250g of fregula and stir until the pasta is pearly. Deglaze with 5cl of white wine. Heat a pot of salted water or chicken stock. When it simmers, add a ladle of it to the fregula and let it cook until fully absorbed, similar to risotto. Repeat until the fregula is cooked (about 20 minutes).

Step 2

Meanwhile, in a hot pan, add a drizzle of olive oil, sauté 1 minced garlic clove and the butternut squash cubes until tender. At the end of cooking, add 20g of unsalted butter. Repeat the same process separately for the shiitake mushrooms and Romanesco broccoli.

Step 3

When the fregula is cooked, add 30g of freshly grated Parmesan and mix. Divide the fregula into serving dishes. Reheat the vegetable mixture, then add the spinach off the heat at the last minute. Place the vegetable mixture on the fregula. Add the Parmesan thyme sauce and pumpkin seeds. Garnish with basil leaves.

The Sauce:

Step 1

Peel and finely slice the onions, place them in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil, and sauté for a few minutes until they become translucent, stirring from time to time.

Step 2

Cut half of the Parmesan (100g) into slices and add to the pan along with thyme and bay leaves. Stir to prevent the Parmesan from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When it starts to melt, pour in the pan first the milk, then the cream, and finally half of the stock. Bring it to a boil.

Step 3

Meanwhile, chop the remaining half of the Parmesan into slices. As soon as the mixture in the pan boils, remove it from the heat and blend it with an immersion blender. Place the pan back on medium heat, add the remaining Parmesan slices, and let them melt. Blend the mixture again. Add a little stock; the cream should not be too thick or too thin. Taste and season with a pinch of salt and a pinch of Espelette pepper. Strain the cream through a sieve or fine strainer and keep it warm.

Note: You can also use grated Parmesan, but the taste won’t be as explosive.