Fall calls for comfort food…and I can’t think of many things more comforting than a bowl of pasta. This pasta is full of some of the most spectacular flavors of the season. Pumpkin, sage, shallots—all brought together by creamy mascarpone and the food of all foods…bacon. It’s rich, cozy and a little luxurious. It’s basically fall in a pasta bowl.
What to Notice
- Cook your pasta just shy of al dente before it goes into the sauce. It will keep softening as it tosses with the pumpkin mascarpone, so pull it a little early to prevent it from overcooking.
- The finished sauce should feel creamy and velvety, not thick. Pumpkin naturally wants to cling, so add pasta water a little at a time until the sauce coats the noodles smoothly and moves easily through the pan.
- Give your pasta a good taste or two before serving. Pumpkin needs enough salt, pepper, and brightness to keep it from feeling flat. A little extra parmesan, a pinch of red pepper flakes, or a squeeze of lemon can wake everything up if anything feels like it’s falling flat.
Servings: 4 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 shallots thickly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves whole and smashed
- 5 large sage leaves plus more for garnish
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1, 8 oz container of mascarpone
- ¼ cup vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 lb box of fettuccine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Several slices of bacon cooked crispy
- ½-1 cup reserved pasta water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Parmesan for finishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the shallots, garlic and sage on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with a sprinkle of salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bake for about 15 mins, flipping everything halfway through.
- To a large bowl (or I prefer a plastic quart storage container), add the pumpkin, mascarpone, vegetable stock, brown sugar, teaspoon of salt, few passes of pepper, and the roasted shallots, garlic and sage. Blend with an immersion blender until everything is nicely pureed. This will be thick—don’t worry. Set this aside.
- Cook your bacon using your preferred method (I like to cook it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through). Dice your bacon and set aside for topping.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your fettuccine according to the directions on the package. Before draining the pasta, reserve about a cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Drain your fettuccine, then add your pumpkin mixture to same pot on low heat. Stir in the two tablespoons of butter and let everything melt nicely together. Slowly add in some of your reserved pasta water, about ¼ cup at a time until the sauce reaches a glossy consistency that’s the thickness you like. Add your fettuccine back to the pot and stir together until it’s nicely coated. Add in as much cooked bacon as you’d like, extra sage leaves, and finish with a generous sprinkling of parmesan.
