While I am not a tremendous fan of pumpkin in any sense of the word, I do acknowledge that Fall is here, and with it comes an uptick in cooking and baking with this particular type of squash.
I suppose I should assert that I absolutely appreciate pumpkins in a carving sense, but that’s about where my liking for it halts.
When most of us contemplate dishes that incorporate pumpkin, a lot of us, understandably, associate it with pie, and perhaps soup. So, when I came across a recipe for Pumpkin Penne alla Vodka from thepioneerwoman.com, I knew it was more than appropriate to share. Check it out.
“Ingredients
- 2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for the pasta
- 1 lb. penne
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 10 fresh sage leaves
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup vodka
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup pure pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup grated parmsan cheese, plus more for topping
- 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
“Directions
“Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
“Heat the olive oil in another large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sage and fry until crisp, about 1 minute. Remove to a paper towel–lined plate.
“Add the garlic and onion to the pot and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomato paste thickens and darkens, about 2 minutes. Carefully stir in the vodka and simmer until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes.
“Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk in the heavy cream, pumpkin puree, parmesan and nutmeg. Simmer until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
“Toss in the pasta and ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water, adding more cooking water a little at a time if necessary. Serve the pasta topped with the fried sage and more parmesan,” the recipe states.
I’ve never had pumpkin pasta, but this does sound intriguing.
Photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash
