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Pumpkin Pesto Pasta

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients
  

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

  • 3 tbsp Roasted Pepitas plus more for garnish, if desired
  • 2 cups Fresh Basil
  • Juice of 1 Lemon
  • 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 2 cloves Roasted Garlic

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

  • 1 Pie Pumpkin
  • 1 Head of Garlic
  • 1 cup Heavy Cream
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 pound Italian Sausage
  • 1/2 White Onion
  • 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 pound Rigatoni Pasta cooked according to package instructions
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions
 

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F.
  • Cut your pie pumpkin in half, and remove all of the seeds and pumpkin guts.
  • Chop the pumpkin into pieces and place on a baking sheet.
  • Cut off the top of the head of garlic so all cloves are exposed, and place on the baking sheet with the pumpkin pieces.
  • Drizzle with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast for 45 minutes to an hour.
  • Let the pumpkin cool, then remove the rind from the roasted pumpkin.
  • Add the roasted pumpkin to a food processor along with the roasted garlic (you can squeeze it right out of the skin).
  • Pour in 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of water, and blend until smooth.

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

  • While the pumpkin is roasting, you can make your pesto! Add the basil, parmesan, pepitas, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, roasted garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes to a food processor and pulse until it reaches your desired consistency. ***I used 2 cloves of roasted garlic that I had leftover from another recipe, but you can either wait for your head of garlic to be roasted and use some of that or use raw garlic cloves - I realize not everyone will have roasted garlic on hand!***

Assembly

  • Puree the white onion and add to a pan with the Italian sausage, and cook until sausage is browned.
  • Pour in the pumpkin sauce mixture and heat on low for a few minutes, stirring often. The sauce will begin to thin a bit from the heat.
  • Add in half of the pumpkin seed pesto, and the cooked rigatoni pasta, and stir to combine.
  • Plate up and garnish as desired with dollops of pumpkin seed pesto, parmesan cheese, roasted pepitas, red pepper flakes, and/or fresh basil, and enjoy!