Apparently it’s carb week! Don’t be scared by that, or by the fact that this carb involves pumpkin 🙂
This week we got hooked up with some pasta products to test out. Along with the food there were a few recipes and one of them was a ravioli with pumpkin alfredo. I didn’t have a lot of the ingredients (including the container of alfredo they sent because I already ate it! Kind of a main ingredient…) but the idea of a pumpkin cream sauce intrigued me so I took the basic idea and went with it. I used my guiltless alfredo sauce, and it worked perfectly. If the idea of mixing pumpkin into a creamy sauce freaks you out, don’t worry- it’s a really mild flavor, but just enough to be interesting and give it a great color. If you’re a big pumpkin fan like I am, you could add a little more. I loved this, and so did my husband and my kids.I paired it with whole wheat 4-cheese ravioli. I thought the whole wheat was a perfect harvest-y thing to go with such a harvest-y dish.
Pasta with Pumpkin Alfredo
1 Package Fresh Pasta
1/2 batch Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
(or 10oz prepared Alfredo)
1/2 T real butter
1/4 C Finely minced onion
1/2 C canned pumpkin (try more if you love pumpkin, this is really mild)
2 T Chicken broth (vegetarians substitute milk or veg. broth)
1T chopped fresh sage (1t dried leaves)
1/2 T fresh thyme (1/2 t dried leaves)
Follow instructions on pasta to cook. In a separate sauce pan melt butter on medium heat. When melted, add onion. Make sure your onion is really finely diced. Since you have a nice smooth sauce, you don’t want big chunks of onion, you just want little bits.
Saute until soft. Since they’re small it should only take a couple of minutes. Add chicken broth and herbs. (I used fresh herbs, but I’m sure dry is great too, just go for leaves as opposed to ground spices so not to muddy the color)
Use a spatula to deglaze the pan a bit and get any cooked bits of onion off the bottom. Add pumpkin and whisk to combine. Add alfredo sauce, stir to combine, and cook until heated through. Depending on the alfredo you use you may need to adjust salt and pepper. Mine didn’t need anything added.
Serve on top of prepared pasta and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of extra herbs. Pair it with a salad and breadsticks for a great vegetarian meal. YUM!
I want to know how you feel about pumpkin pasta! Sound good? Sound weird? And if you’ve never commented before, introduce yourself so we can get to know ya! We love all you guys!
My name is Jessie and I love looking at your site and using the recipes. I love cooking and in fact have a cooking blog of my own~ http://www.foodbringsfamiliestogether.blogspot.com It isn’t as great as your site but anyway,I asked my husband that they other day~if pumpkin pasta sounded good and he said no but I think it would be great so I will have to try it when he is gone!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
I think it sounds totally weird. But I’m not a pumpkin person, I mean at all! I hate anything with pumpkin in it. Well, except these pumpkin flavored cake donuts I found at the grocery store. But, my hubby loves it, so I might have to give this a try. I do love the alfredo sauce though. I made it one night for my sister and we both agreed it was so much better then our favorite italian restaraunt. Perfect for dipping breadsticks in, too!
First time commenter here and one of your England readers. I’ve tried lots of your recipes, (The ribs – my hubby loved, Sam Burgers – I have a son Sam and we are waiting for your recipe for “Mattburgers” j/k I’ll have to make something up in the mean time for my other son, We loved the asian chicken and the zuchinni lemon herb pasta. Thanks for posting. You’ve inspired me to start cooking dinner again.
I’m not sure about the pumpkin pasta, mostly because I don’t like pumpkin pie. But, I do love fun new pasta recipes!
This recipe sounds terrific! I am definitely going to try it. My sister introduced your site to me a few weeks ago, and I love it! I’m a bit of a foodie and you guys have terrific food, but stuff I can actually prepare with little ones underfoot ( :
Humm…I think I would be willing to try it, but my husband doesn’t like crab or mixing new foods together, we will see. I made the Rosemary Bread the other day and we LOVED it.
HI HI HI!!!!!!!!!! I love your site and promise I will leave more comments. promise promise promise! HUGS you two!
I’m willing to give it a try as well. My family loves the guiltless alfredo sauce, and I have sent many people your way. I do have one question, when preparing your Thanskgiving meal do you brine your turkey? Or how do you prepare/cook your turkey. I need some tips for a moist turkey. BTW love all your tips and recipes
I think it sounds weird… and good! Does that count? I love all things pumpkin so I am definitely willing to give this a try.
I feel so honored to leave the first comment! Keep doing what your doing. I recently discovered your site and have already tried several recipes. I appreciate the specific feedback you gave when my focaccia flopped. User error, I know, but it’s nice to get real feedback from people who know! The pumpkin alfredo sounds good. I’m not sure how I’ll sneak it past the hubby though 🙂