Pumpkin and Mushroom Pasta

To prepare pumpkin and mushroom pasta, start by cleaning the pumpkin. Cut it, remove the inner seeds 1 and the peel 2; you should obtain 460 grams (about 1 lb) of cleaned pumpkin. Then cut the pulp into slices and subsequently into cubes of about half an inch 3.

Also clean the cremini mushrooms (you can see the full process in the guide on our site how to clean mushrooms), removing the most earthy part of the stem 4 and cleaning both the cap and stem with a slightly damp cloth (alternatively, you can rinse them very quickly under a gentle stream of cold water and dry them quickly so they do not absorb water). Then slice the mushrooms thinly 5, also chop the cleaned garlic cloves and rosemary 6.

In a pot, pour plenty of water and salt it once it boils: this will be used for cooking the pasta. While the water heats, pour the oil and sauté the garlic and rosemary mixture in another pan 7. Stir for a few moments, then add the diced pumpkin 8 and cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. When the pumpkin has softened (it will take about 5 minutes), remove a part of it and continue cooking the remaining pumpkin in the pan. Pour the removed pumpkin into a tall glass, add some pasta cooking water 9

and blend everything with an immersion mixer 10 until you get a puree 11. Meanwhile, after the 10-minute cooking time of the remaining pumpkin, also add the mushrooms to the pan 12 and cook for at least another 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir occasionally.

Add some pasta cooking water to the sauce to help the cooking process and make it creamy 13. After the indicated 5 minutes, also add the pumpkin puree, keeping the heat low 14; stir, then salt and pepper 15. You can turn off the heat after a few moments.

Cook the pasta 16, drain it al dente and pour it directly into the pan with the sauce with the heat off. Stir gently 17 and serve your pumpkin and mushroom pasta immediately 18.