When someone offers you a pumpkin, accept it with glee. These long-lasting beauties can be cooked in a huge variety of ways – Creamy Pumpkin Spaghetti being one of them!
Pumpkin: As awkward as they are in size, they don’t need to be kept in the fridge until you have started cutting into them. Keep in a cool place until ready to use (which can be for several months). Once you have cut into it – say, using half for a delicious roast vegetable salad, the remaining pumpkin may look mournfully at you for weeks. Don’t do it. Be brave and cook it all, or freeze it down. I use pumpkin puree a fair bit.
You can either cut it up and roast the pumpkin (skin on, seeds scooped out) or boil it, the end result is similar. If boiling the pumpkin, just make sure it is drained well afterwards as you don’t need the water, just the pumpkin flesh. Once cooked, the skin is easy to remove and throw into the compost. With the remaining flesh, simply smash it with a potato masher, or if you are lucky to have a blender, blitz it to a pulp. This pulp aka ‘pumpkin puree‘ keeps for around a week in an air-tight container in the fridge and can be used in a multitude of recipes including Pumpkin Scones, gluten-free pumpkin pizza crust or pumpkin soup…. and this pasta dish!
Spaghetti: Spaghetti originated in Naples and got its name from Antonio Viviani in 1842, as it looked like small pieces of string, from the Italian word “spago”. Once upon a time spaghetti measured 50cm in length however over time, has been gradually shortened to the current length of 25cm.
Creamy Pumpkin Spaghetti
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 345g box of Spaghetti
- 1 tsp + 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil – Extra mild
- 25g butter
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup pine nuts (or walnut pieces)
- 2 cups of pumpkin puree
- 250g tub sour cream
- 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- 1/4 Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1 cup baby spinach or rocket leaves
- freshly cracked pepper, to garnish
- spring onions, to garnish
Method
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over a medium heat. Add 1 tsp salt and the full 345g packet of spaghetti. Submerge the spaghetti by gently pressing down on it until it folds under the water. Cook as per the instructions on the pack until ‘al dente’, then remove from heat and drain.
- While the spaghetti is simmering, in a large fry pan heat oil and butter until melted. Add garlic and pine nuts and saute for 5 minutes, stirring regularly so nothing burns.
- Add pumpkin puree to the pan (literally, smoothly mashed cooked pumpkin), sour cream, 1/4 tsp salt and vegetable stock. Combine well on the stove top for 5 minutes until the mix has heated through. Add parmesan and spinach greens and combine until they have wilted and the cheese melted.
- Add drained pasta to the pan with the pumpkin sauce and cook for several more minutes, again until pasta has heated through (particularly if it has been cooling).
- Serve with cracked pepper and spring onions.
TIP: Eat what you can, freeze what you can’t!
