Pumpkin Patch Pasta

This pasta dish is accompanied by a savory medley of mixed vegetables with pumpkin highlighted in both the roasted veggies and the sauce.

Ingredients:

8 oz cavatappi (corkscrew) pasta (2 1/2 cups uncooked)

1 sliced or diced onion

3 diced Italian tomatoes

1 diced bell pepper

8 medium mushrooms, quartered

1 medium carrot, sliced

1 cup pumpkin, cubed

black pepper to taste

2 tbsps + 2 tsps olive oil

Sauce:

1 cup pumpkin purée (see end of post for easy recipe)

1 cup reserved pasta water

1 cup tomato sauce

2 tbsps olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp ground sage

2 pinches of sugar

1 pinch of nutmeg

4 or 5 roasted garlic cloves, mashed (see end of post for easy recipe)

fresh chopped parsley

chia seeds

Combine the sauce ingredients (without the pasta water at this point) in a sauce pan. Heat on a very low simmer. Boil pumpkin cubes in a separate pot until just tender, then drain.

Toss the onion, tomato, bell pepper, mushrooms and carrots with 2 tbsps olive oil and spread on a lined baking sheet. Add black pepper to your taste and roast in a 450°F oven for 15 minutes. Toss the pre-cooked pumpkin with 2 tsps olive oil and add to the veggies. Return all to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the pasta as per package directions and reserve 1 cup pasta water. Add ladlefuls of the water to the sauce stirring until you reach a consistency you like. I did end up using nearly the whole cup. Once the water is incorporated, heat the sauce right through then continue simmering.