Pasta with pumpkin cream is a first course with a distinct flavor where the delicacy of pumpkin puree perfectly matches the bold flavor of pancetta.
An easy and quick recipe to prepare, but at the same time, delicious and well-presented, creamy and tasty enough to be served on cold winter days.
The preparation is really simple: after sautéing some onion in a pan and pancetta, add the pumpkin cut into pieces, season with a pinch of salt and nutmeg, then let it cook until it softens.
Once cooked, blend it with an immersion blender, add the pasta, mix in some parmesan, and it’s ready to serve.
Pasta with pumpkin cream is a rustic first course that everyone will love.
To make it, you can use any pasta shape you prefer, but I recommend short pasta, preferably ridged, as it is more suitable for creamy sauces because it absorbs them better.
You’ll see that even if you’re a beginner in the kitchen, you’ll succeed in impressing your family or guests in a few steps, and with the start of the cold season, there’s nothing better than enjoying something warm and comforting!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 488.39 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 30.47 (g) of which sugars 2.91 (g)
- Proteins 7.89 (g)
- Fat 37.81 (g) of which saturated 10.82 (g)of which unsaturated 14.75 (g)
- Fibers 2.16 (g)
- Sodium 486.17 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 11 oz pasta (cellentani, paccheri, penne rigate)
- 10.5 oz pumpkin (already cleaned pulp)
- 1/2 onion
- 5 oz pancetta
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- hazelnut crumbs (to garnish the dish)
Tools
- Immersion blender
- Pan
- Pot
Steps
Peel the pumpkin and cut it into pieces, clean the onion and chop it finely.
Put 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion.
When it is golden, add the pumpkin and mix. Adjust the salt and add a pinch of nutmeg.
Let it cook for about ten minutes, adding a ladle of water if necessary.
Meanwhile, bring the water for the pasta to a boil.
When the pumpkin has softened, blend it using an immersion blender.
As soon as the water for the pasta boils, add the chosen shape and follow the cooking times indicated on the package.
When the pasta is almost cooked, sauté the pancetta in the same pan where we cooked the pumpkin.
Lightly brown it, then add the pumpkin cream to the pan. Mix and let it flavor.
Drain the pasta and put it in the pan with the sauce, add a ladle of cooking water, and mix well.
Plate and garnish the dish with a sprinkle of hazelnut crumbs.
Serve the dish still hot and steaming
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STORAGE
Once ready, the pasta with pumpkin cream should be consumed immediately. It can be stored for a maximum of one day in a container in the refrigerator.
TIPS AND VARIATIONS
You can replace the onion with shallots if you prefer.
Instead of pancetta, use guanciale, speck, or sausage.
If you see that the bottom of the pumpkin cream is drying too much, add a little pasta cooking water.
It is possible to cook the pumpkin in the oven instead of in a pot and then blend it with an immersion blender.
Any pasta shape works fine, although short pasta is better, and this sauce is also perfect for gnocchi.
To give the dish a crunchy note, you can add hazelnut crumbs as soon as the pasta with pumpkin cream is plated.
Finally, if you want to add extra creaminess to the dish, you can mix in some ricotta at the last moment.
