On with our pumpkin-y pumpkin-ness. This beauty of a pumpkin was in a bin at the grocery store labeled “Autumn Color Pumpkins”. I looked it up when I got home and discovered its official name is Jarrahdale. I thought I would be confronting a pale or even white flesh, but imagine my surprise–and delight–when I cut into this pumpkin and found a glowing orange beauty of a pumpkin.
I used this medium-sized pumpkin for four separate meals, two different pastas, a pumpkin noodle dish, and a salad, so stay tuned! I’m starting with the pastas, because wouldn’t you?!
Making your own pasta isn’t as difficult as you think. And the results are well worth your time and effort. I’ve tried a couple different pasta recipes, but my favorite is simply following the directions on the back of the bag from Bob’s Red Mill Semolina Flour. When you’re adding flavors (i.e. veggies) to your pastas, the most important thing is to make sure you aren’t adding extra liquid. Roasting is a good way to do that with the heartier vegetables–it adds a ton of flavor while slowly evaporating liquid, resulting in a sweet, creamy, flavorful, ready to eat squash.
Only don’t dig in yet, we’re going to take it one step further! Just blend your roasted pumpkin with eggs, water, and olive oil, and add it to your semolina mix. Stir until it starts to form into a lumpy mass, dump it out on a floured surface, then call in your cutest sous chef to help knead your dough.
I have dibs on mine. When I’m making bread or pasta, he always comes running, drags his stool to the counter, and says, “Mama, I can help you mush mush mush!” We use very technical terms in my kitchen.
After kneading it and forming it into a ball, let it rest for 20-30 minutes, wrapped in a towel or plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out. About the time it takes to unload the dishwasher. Or load it. Or both. There always seems to be an abundance of dishes in my sink. {Except for when my mom visits and she graciously takes on dish duty. I actually see the bottom of my sink for more than a few hours in the afternoon.}
I normally use my KitchenAid pasta maker, but I got a new gadget I had to try out! I cut the ball of dough in half and made both Fettuccine and Angel Hair, with the Pumpkin Fettuccine getting gourmet treatment in an Asiago Cream Sauce and topped with toasted walnuts. Ummmm, yeah. I’m drooling just typing this out. Admittedly, this is vegetarian and not plant-based/vegan with the Asiago Cream Sauce, but it’s definitely worth the splurge. {Or, if you aren’t into splurging, you could always make my Cauliflower Corn Cream Sauce, omitting the half and half.}
PUMPKIN FETTUCCINE WITH ASIAGO CREAM SAUCE AND TOASTED WALNUTS
I followed Bob’s Red Mill Semolina Flour Basic Pasta Recipe, and added Roasted Pumpkin. You can definitely break up the labor over a couple of days–roast the pumpkin one day, store in the fridge, and add it to your pasta mix within 2-4 days from roasting. Also, I used this amount of dough to make two different pasta dinners that served 2 hungry adults and had a small container of leftovers the next day. If you wish to have less, cut the ingredients in half.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE PASTA
- 1 1/2 cups semolina flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup roasted pumpkin
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
INGREDIENTS FOR THE ASIAGO CREAM SAUCE
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 1 1/2 cups asiago cheese, finely grated
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the pumpkin into large chunks, skin on, cleaned of seeds, and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a cookie sheet and roast on the middle rack in the oven for at least one hour. The pumpkin should be soft when poked with a knife or fork. Let cool to room temperature.
- Mix semolina flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the center. In the blender, mix the roasted pumpkin, eggs, water, and olive oil until blended to a smooth consistency. Add to the semolina flour and stir together until a rough dough forms.
- Use all-purpose flour to cover the work surface and to add to the dough while kneading. Dump the dough out onto the floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic and soft, not sticky. You will add up to 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour while kneading. Once a smooth ball forms from kneading, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
- Press the dough through your pasta maker–a fettuccine or linguine will work best for this recipe. Let the pasta dough rest on parchment paper and fill a large pot with water to boil.
- While waiting for water to boil, scald the half and half over low heat; do not let come to a boil. When you see tiny bubbles forming around the edge of the pot, turn off the heat and add the asiago cheese and stir until smooth. The sauce will be thin, but the noodles will slurp up the sauce and help thicken it. Keep the cream sauce covered and warm until you add the pasta to it.
- When the water comes to a boil, season the water with salt and cook the pasta for 4-5 minutes {Fresh pasta cooks much faster than store-bought dry pasta}. After 4-5 minutes, transfer the pasta to the pot with the cream sauce and let rest, uncovered. The pasta will continue to cook with the warmth from the cream sauce and thicken. Serve topped with toasted walnuts.
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