Pasta is one of the dishes that is loved by many. It is filling, easy to prepare, delicious and can be served with a variety of sauces. I always thought that nothing beats a rich tomato sauce but I have to say that I found a new favourite pasta dish!
I love the sweet and nutty flavour of roasted pumpkin. I like to add it to warm salads and have also used pumpkin to make a creamy risotto! 😋
I was planning to make risotto last week but was short on time and we wanted to eat sooner. Although risotto is very easy to make, I believe that you cannot hurry the making of risotto up… you need to give it time and stir it continuously for a rich and creamy result.
Having already roasted the pumpkin, I decided to try and combine it with pasta which is quicker to cook. While the pasta was cooking, I prepared a quick sauce by blending the roasted pumpkin and adding it to some garlic and thyme infused butter. To finish off the sauce, I added small chunks of sweet gorgonzola cheese and mixed into the pasta. I used spaghetti because that was what I had available in my kitchen but any kind of long pasta, like bucatini or tagliatelle will do the trick.
This is a super easy and quick recipe, ideal for a weeknight dinner. It is also great to serve it at a dinner party with a large number of people. The roasted pumpkin puree can be prepared well in advance and warmed up later before serving. In fact, I do make pumpkin puree in advance sometimes and freeze it. It will taste much better with time as it will have the chance for the flavours to mingle.
Pasta with Creamy Roasted Pumpkin
A delicious pasta dish ideal for weeknight dinner
Ingredients
- 500g pumpkin
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 8 garlic cloves
- 180g brown spaghetti
- 2 tbsp butter
- A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 100g Gorgonzola dolce
- Grana Padano shavings, to serve (optional)
Directions
- Peel and clean the pumpkin from any seeds. Chop it into 1-inch cubes and place it into a roasting dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle the dried thyme and rosemary and crush half of the garlic cloves and add them to the dish. Mix everything together until the pumpkin cubes are well coated with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 30-40 minutes or until they start to charr, turning them over once.
- Once roasted, let it cool slightly and then using a blender, puree everything together.
- Place the pasta in large pot of salted boiling water and cook according to packet instructions.
- Heat a large pan on a medium high heat and add the butter together with the remaining chopped garlic cloves, sprigs of thyme and chili flakes. Add a tablespoon of olive oil so that the butter does not burn.
- Lower the heat and pour in the pumpkin puree to warm it through, stirring constantly.
- Drain the pasta, reserving a little bit of water just in case.
- Add the pasta to the pumpkin sauce and mix until the pasta is fully covered in sauce. If it is too thick add a tablespoon of pasta water at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
- Add small pieces of the Gorgonzola cheese to the pan and gently mix again.
- Serve immediately with shavings of Grana Padano on top if desired.
