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Pumpkin Pesto Pasta

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Ingredients Method

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

Method
 

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
  1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
  2. Cut your pie pumpkin in half, and remove all of the seeds and pumpkin guts.
  3. Chop the pumpkin into pieces and place on a baking sheet.
  4. Cut off the top of the head of garlic so all cloves are exposed, and place on the baking sheet with the pumpkin pieces.
  5. Drizzle with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast for 45 minutes to an hour.
  6. Let the pumpkin cool, then remove the rind from the roasted pumpkin.
  7. Add the roasted pumpkin to a food processor along with the roasted garlic (you can squeeze it right out of the skin).
  8. Pour in 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of water, and blend until smooth.
Pumpkin Seed Pesto
  1. 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
  1. Puree the white onion and add to a pan with the Italian sausage, and cook until sausage is browned.
  2. 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.
  3. Add in half of the pumpkin seed pesto, and the cooked rigatoni pasta, and stir to combine.
  4. 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!