The baked rigatoni with pumpkin and bacon is a rich and flavorful main course perfect for a Sunday lunch to share with friends.

An incredibly simple recipe that allows you to create an original, versatile dish that will leave your guests licking their lips.

The baked rigatoni with pumpkin and bacon is a perfect and harmonious combination of flavors: the sweetness of the pumpkin, the saltiness of the bacon, the creaminess of the cream, the gooey heart of the mozzarella… don’t you feel your mouth watering just reading this? 😛

This main course will please everyone, both adults and kids, even those who don’t love vegetables. With this recipe, you can get them to eat pumpkin since it’s reduced to a creamy consistency during cooking.

Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

12 oz rigatoni
7 oz diced smoked bacon
14 oz cleaned pumpkin
1 fresh Tropea onion
9 oz pressed mozzarella
1 cup cooking cream
3 oz grated Parmesan
to taste salt
to taste extra virgin olive oil
to taste fresh chives

Steps

Clean the fresh onion and chop it finely.
Gently sauté the onion in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil.
Add the cleaned and diced pumpkin, and fresh chives, finely chopped.
Cover with warm water, season with salt, and cook for 10-15 minutes. During cooking, mash the pumpkin with a fork.
Once finished, you will have a pumpkin cream. Add the cream, mix, and turn off the heat.
You can now proceed with cooking the pasta.
Add the smoked bacon to a non-stick pan and let it brown.
Drain the pasta halfway through its cooking time, season it with the pumpkin mixture, and add the bacon.
In an oven dish, pour half of the pasta, sprinkle with grated Parmesan, and cover with cubed mozzarella.
Cover with the remaining pasta and the remaining grated Parmesan.
Bake at 392°F for 20 minutes, enough time to form a nice golden crust.