Pumpkin Cascatelli Pasta
Ingredients:
1 small to medium sized sugar pumpkin, ends trimmed, seeded and cut in half to roast
1 box cascatelli pasta, or any other pasta really :)
1 cup hazelnuts, dry roasted and crushed into small pieces (unsalted)
3 tbsp tarragon, minced
1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbsp avocado oil
1 stick unsalted butter
½ cup micro grated parmesan
1 tbsp ground aleppo pepper
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried mushroom powder
½ tsp ground clove
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice from 2 oranges
salt
Steps:
Preheat oven to 375°F with the rack adjusted to center position (190°C)
Trim the end of the pumpkin and cut in half from root to base, remove seeds and rub with avocado oil and salt. Place the halves, skin side down, on a foil lined ½ sheet baking tray along with shallot.
Roast pumpkin until fork tender, turning it over halfway, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the shallots about 20 minutes into cooking, or until they are nicely browned and set aside for later.
Once cooled, remove the pumpkin's skin and place the roasted pumpkin in a food processor along with 1 cup of water. Add in shallots and blend thoroughly.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and season with cumin, clove, mushroom powder and salt. Mix in orange juice.
Fill a 3 qt sauce pan halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat
Warm a 3 qt saute pan over medium heat and add butter, keeping the temperature warm enough to allow the butter to brown but not hot enough to burn.
Once boiling, stir in 2ish tbsp of salt, give it a minute and add in pasta (½ box serves 2-3 while a full serves 4-5). Boil pasta for about 13ish minutes, or until slightly under ‘al dente’.
Once the butter is browned, add pumpkin mixture to the pan along with tarragon. Stir in soy sauce and fish sauce. Taste and add in more orange juice if you desire more sweetness and acidity.
Once pasta is ready, add it to the pan along with 2 cups of pasta water. Add ½ of the hazelnuts and parmesan. Raise the pan’s temperature and stir vigorously for 2-4 minutes. Add more pasta water as needed for consistency, keep in mind that the sauce will tighten up as it cools so keep it a bit looser than you would think.
Serve in a bowl and garnish with remaining hazelnuts and a sprinkle of tarragon.
#vegetarian