Pasta with blended pumpkin, crescenza, and speck, a simple recipe with easy-to-find ingredients, almost any season. And finally, we talk about pumpkins again, another one of my favorite ingredients. But, after all, those who love cooking like me find all products, especially seasonal ones, delicious. In this case, I was particularly lucky because I also had the opportunity to have this pumpkin cleaned and cut, so why not take advantage of it to create a first pumpkin recipe for this fall. A peculiarity of this recipe is to blend the pumpkin to make it creamier and help bind all the other ingredients. The speck, on the other hand, will be added only at the end in a super crispy version. Pumpkin is very versatile in the kitchen. In fact, besides delicious first courses, it’s perfect as a side dish and second course, but, read on, also for making desserts. Below I also leave you this recipe, while at the end of the description, you will find some answers to common questions.
#adv
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 11 oz pasta (to taste, preferably short)
- Half white onion
- 4 oz speck
- 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp coarse salt (for the pasta)
- to taste fine salt
- 4 oz crescenza
- 3 ladles water (from cooking the pasta)
Tools
- 1 Pan
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Pot
- 1 Lid
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Mixer
Steps
To make Pasta with blended pumpkin, crescenza, and speck, first cut the pumpkin into cubes, not necessarily small, and the speck into strips or cubes. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water for the cooking time indicated on the package. Set aside three ladles of its cooking water.
Meanwhile, cook the pumpkin in the oil and onion sauté with two ladles of hot water and a pinch of salt. Cover with a lid and stir occasionally, continuing to cook on low heat. When it has softened, place the pumpkin in the mixer bowl and blend until creamy.
In a non-stick pan, fry the speck until it becomes crispy, without adding other ingredients. Use a spatula to turn it frequently. Set aside for the final garnish.
Pour the pumpkin cream into the pan, add the crescenza block and a ladle of hot water. To facilitate the melting of the cheese, you can also divide it into pieces. Mix well and add the pasta, stirring for a minute. When serving, garnish with crispy speck and, if desired, grated cheese.
It’s possible to prepare the blended pumpkin cream in advance and, only when dressing the pasta, reheat it and add the crescenza with a ladle of water. However, the speck should be prepared at the moment to maintain its crispiness.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is the crescenza for?
To cream the sauce and pasta at the end of cooking.
What can I substitute it with?
With an equivalent amount of ricotta or with a little butter.
Can I use raw or cooked ham instead of speck?
Certainly. It’s a great idea to also use guanciale petals to replace speck.
