The pasta and pumpkin is a simple and delicious first course, typical of Neapolitan cuisine. Also known as “pasta e cocozza”, it is a recipe from the poor kitchen that is made with few ingredients and in a few simple steps. Just like the classic pasta and potatoes from the Neapolitan tradition, pasta and pumpkin is prepared using only one pot. The pasta is cooked together with the pumpkin, like a risotto, resulting in a very creamy dish, rich in flavor despite using very few ingredients. You can choose to leave it a bit more brothy by using more water, or alternatively drier or “azzeccosa”!
The preparation is very simple: start with a sauté of garlic, oil, and chili pepper to which we add the pumpkin. Cover with water and let it stew for about twenty minutes until the pumpkin becomes very soft. Once the water is boiling, pour in the pasta. Once al dente, add chopped parsley and if you like, grated Parmesan cheese, and mix everything well.
With pumpkin, we can prepare many dishes from appetizers to desserts, but surely pasta and pumpkin is one of the simplest and best we can enjoy, so easy and fast that we can prepare it for lunch and dinner during the fall season every other day! All you need is a good pumpkin to try this recipe!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Campania
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients for making Pasta and Pumpkin
- 10.5 oz pasta
- 1.76 lbs pumpkin
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 chili pepper
- chopped parsley
- 3.5 oz grated Parmesan cheese
- salt
Tools for making Pasta and Pumpkin
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pot
- 1 Ladle
Steps for making Pasta and Pumpkin
To prepare pasta and pumpkin, first clean the pumpkin, removing the skin and seeds, and cut it into cubes.
Pour the olive oil into a rather large pot and add the garlic and chopped chili pepper.
Let the garlic brown for a few minutes, then add the pumpkin and some of the chopped parsley.
Cook for a few minutes while stirring, then at this point you can remove the garlic and add a glass of water or as much as needed to cover the pumpkin.
Let it cook for about twenty minutes over low heat, adding more water if necessary, until the pumpkin is very soft and creamy, almost falling apart. You can mash some pumpkin cubes to make the sauce even creamier. Add 1 or 2 glasses of boiling water to the pumpkin.
When it comes to a boil, pour in the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. If it gets too dry, you can add one or two tablespoons of boiling water.
At the end of cooking, season with salt, add the remaining chopped parsley, and if you like, grated Parmesan to mix and stir well.
Serve the pasta and pumpkin by finishing with some raw oil and more fresh chopped parsley.
Simo and Cicci recommend
Even if it rarely happens, you can store pasta and pumpkin in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days.
For a vegan version, you can omit the grated cheese.
Also, if you don’t like spicy flavor, you can omit the chili pepper.
You can also add diced pancetta or guanciale to the sauté.
If the pasta water dries up too much during cooking, we recommend keeping some boiling water on hand to add as needed.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What type of pumpkin is best to use for pasta and pumpkin?
In the original Neapolitan recipe, a long-shaped pumpkin is used, which is the Neapolitan pumpkin or cocozza zuccarina. It is a long, narrow pumpkin with an orange skin and green streaks. If you can’t find this type of pumpkin, you can use a Delica or a Hokkaido pumpkin.
What type of pasta is ideal for making pasta and pumpkin?
For this type of dish, short pasta shapes like tubetti, ditali, or wheels, or even mixed pasta, are generally used.
