Savory Pumpkin Pasta Recipe

• Cuisine: American
• Course: Entrée
• Skill Level: Moderate

Nutritional Information (per serving)

• Calories: 335
• Fat: 10g
• Protein: 12g
• Sodium: 1197mg
• Carbohydrates: 47g
• Fiber: 1g

Ingredients:

1. 
   1 ½ - 2 cups fresh pumpkin or fall squash, peeled, cleaned and cubed (or 3 bags of frozen butternut squash). If using pumpkin, use the flesh from the lid and the pieces cut out when carving a jack-o-lantern
   3 cloves garlic, chopped
   1 tablespoon fresh thyme or sage (or both), chopped
   2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
   ¼ cup broth or water
   1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
   Salt and freshly ground pepper
   ½ lb. dry pasta
   *1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (*optional)

Directions:

1. 1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
   2. If you are peeling and cutting a whole butternut squash, pierce the entire squash with a fork. Place the squash directly on the rack in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes. You can then peel and cut the squash much easier than when it is raw. Cut pumpkin or squash into ½ inch (or smaller) cubes.
   3. Add pasta when the water is rapidly boiling.
   4. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan over medium heat, add your garlic, olive oil and ½ of the herbs and cook garlic for a few minutes. Do not brown.
   5. Add squash and sauté until it starts to get soft. If it starts to stick to the pan, add a few tablespoons of water or broth to loosen.
   6. Cook pasta until al dente (it should have a bit of a chew to it). Drain and reserve one cup of the pasta water. Add pasta to the sauté pan and moisten with the pasta water.
   7. Add the remaining herbs and ½ of the cheese. Serve the remaining cheese on top of the pasta with fresh cracked pepper. Finish with toasted pumpkin seeds.