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Creamy Pumpkin Fettuccine

October 9th, 2012

Happy Hump Day.

I am in one of those moods where all I want to do is lie in bed in my favorite sweatpants (which happen to be maternity sweats from my first pregnancy- no judgment please), watch reality tv marathons, On-demand movies and eat pasta.

Don’t worry. I’m not depressed, I am just trying to adjust my mind set for Seattle winter, which may indeed be starting this weekend. Typically it looks like 9 months of rain, so you really have to have comfortable sweats, you know?

So, due to my carb-tastic, pumpkiny mood lately, I bring you this luscious, velvety smooth and delicious pasta: Creamy Pumpkin Fettuccine.

I roasted fresh sugar pumpkins and whisked it into the cream sauce and tossed with fettuccine for a most comforting fall dish. I also toasted the seeds from the inside of the pumpkin and used those as garnish. Consider it- it added a wonderful salty crunch to the pasta.

Serve this up with a green salad and you have a very easy and delicious dinner!

To make it, this is what you do:

For the Roasted Pumpkin Puree:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees: Slice a sugar pumpkin in half and scrape out seeds (I like to save for roasting!) Place the pumpkin halves on a sheet pan, face up. Top each pumpkin with 1 tablespoon butter, and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Roast the pumpkin for 1 hour at 400 degrees.

Let cool and then separate the flesh from the skin.

Put the pumpkin flesh in the bowl of a food processor and puree until pretty smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Put the fettuccine in to cook to al dente according to manufacturers directions.

Pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer with the pinch of nutmeg, letting it cook and thicken slightly, about 3 minutes.

Whisk in the roasted pumpkin puree until the cream and pumpkin form a smooth sauce.

Whisk in 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese and stir until smooth. Season to taste with kosher salt.

Drain the fettuccine pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta water, and put it back in the pot it was cooked in. Toss the pasta with the creamy pumpkin sauce. If it feels to thick add a tablespoon at a time of the pasta water.

Transfer the pasta to a serving dish and top with the remaining Parmesan cheese.