Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce

  This recipe was pretty good. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars. It wasn't that it didn't taste good, it just didn't have really strong flavors. I thought that the goat cheese would have had a tart/salty flavor, but I think it was washed out by the cream and the pumpkin. I had to add a lot of Parmesan cheese to bring up the flavor level. 

  I forgot to buy sage so that was not in my dish. I also spilled my heavy cream, so it ended up being 1/8 of heavy cream and  3/8 of half and half.  Try this recipe if you love pumpkin. Otherwise skip this recipe and save your pumpkin for the pancakes I made a couple of weeks ago or for one of my other up coming pumpkin recipes.

1 pound campanelle or penne pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 to 3 oz goat cheese
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh cracked pepper (or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 ½ tablespoon of chopped fresh sage
 

Grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of salt.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the shallots, crushed red pepper (if using), and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the  broth, pumpkin, salt, pepper and cream. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk in the goat cheese and 1 tablespoon of the fresh sage.  Lower the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.  Can add a little of the Parmesan cheese here if you like.

Toss the pasta with the sauce, cover and let sit off the heat for 5 minutes or so.  Place in a serving bowl and top with the remaining fresh sage and a good dusting of the Parmesan cheese.  Serve with additional Parmesan cheese at the table.

Original recipe from Circle B Kitchen