Good morning all! It’s the first day of fall and I’m finally ready to cave to the all pumpkin everything…and the big sweaters, and the boots, and the autumn leaves. But anyway, bring on the PSL, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and all things pumpkin. I absolutely love the sweet pumpkin treats, but I also enjoy the savory side pumpkin. Here we have perfect comfort food just in time for fall.
I haven’t had much experience with making my own pumpkin pasta. Actually, I have none. However, earlier in the week, I was trying to think of some of my favorite pumpkin dishes. I kept thinking back to the pumpkin ravioli I had at an Italian restaurant last fall. It was seriously to die for. Granted it wasn’t a pumpkin sauce, it was pumpkin and pasta which gave me just enough inspiration.
It took me a few days to formulate a plan for this recipe. My lack of experience in this flavor combo had my wheels turning for quite awhile. To my surprise, this baby turned out! I won’t lie; my first attempt was a bit of flop. I put the dish together under prepared on a day with too many things on my plate (no pun intended). I may have forgotten to add a few of the key ingredients due to a lack of attention span.
My second trial was so much better, partially due to the clear head on my shoulders. The winning combination here is definitely the pork, pumpkin, and sage. The flavors pair so well together which really brings the dish together.
I started this dish out by browning the ground pork. My recipe calls for ground pork, which can be a little harder to find depending on the grocery stores you have available. Another alternative would be some kind of pork sausage, but go with the plain ground pork if you can. Add the ground pork to a large skillet with the onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes. You can skip the oil as ground pork tends to have enough fat to prevent sticking. Add mushrooms to pork mixture and stir. When the ground pork is browned, remove from heat and drain excess grease. This helps to lighten up the dish some.
While the meat is cooking, a pot of water can be brought to a boil to cook the pasta. This should take about 8-9 minutes to get the pasta al dente. When pasta is finished, the hot watered should be drained and pasta should be rinsed under cold water to stop the cooking process.
For the sauce, ingredients can be added directly into the pan with the cooked ground pork. Here I added the pumpkin puree and vegetable stock and mixed well. More or less stock can be added depending on preferred consistency. Once combined, you can add in the remaining ingredients, stirring frequently. I like to let the sauce simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to melt together. Then toss the sauce with pasta mixture and warm over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Avoid cooking too long or the pasta will over cook. Top with some grated parmesan cheese and you are ready to go. But don’t forget to serve with a glass of wine!
Pumpkin Tortiglioni Pasta with Pumpkin and Sage
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork, (Italian sausage can be substituted)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces of mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 can pumpkin puree (15oz)
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 3 Tablespoons half and half
- 1 ½ teaspoons sage
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Dash of cayenne pepper
- 2 ounces Neuchatel Cheese, or reduced-fat cream cheese
- Coarsely ground salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 pound tortiglioni pasta, cooked al dente
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, for garnishing
Instructions
- Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add pork and onion to the skillet, cooking for 5 minutes. Add in garlic and mushrooms, continuing to brown the pork.
- Drain fat from skillet, and set pork mixture aside on another plate.
- In the same skillet, melt butter. Add pumpkin, stock, and half and half, stirring to combine. Mix in sage, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. More or less stock can be added to achieve consistency of choice. Allow to simmer 1-2 minutes.
- Add in Neuchatel cheese, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Return sausage mixture to pan, reducing heat. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Add pre-cooked and drained pasta to sauce mixture. Toss to combine and lightly coat. Heat for 1-2 minutes, until pasta is warm.
- Garnish pasta with additional sage and parmesan cheese.
