Winter Recipe: Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

by Lana Buseman

Fall and winter also double as pumpkin season, when it seems that every recipe suddenly has pumpkin in it. It is always interesting to see what new pumpkin recipes sprout up during this time.

I discovered pumpkin pasta sauce a few years ago in pre-made jar form. I was really skeptical because most of the pumpkin-based foods I had tried were of the sweet variety. I wasn’t sure what it would be like; turns out, it’s absolutely delicious.

However, while pumpkin is low in calories and high in vitamin A, the sauce itself was full of cream and fat. The pumpkin flavor is what makes the sauce so unique and special, so I set about creating a sauce that highlighted that characteristic.

To start, you will need:

• 2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree or 1 can pumpkin puree (be careful not to accidentally pick up pumpkin pie filling!)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• ¾ cup skim milk (can substitute soy or rice milk)
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• A pinch of ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sautee your garlic and shallot in olive oil over medium heat until softened. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Turn the heat to low and add in your pumpkin, stock, milk and seasonings and cook until heated through. Serve over whole wheat pasta with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy a healthy seasonal meal!

Comments

[Nicolai Jackson]

Wow! I made this for lunch today and is was incredible! I followed your recipe but threw in some fresh cooked chickpeas to add a little protein. yum! Pinned it and posted it on Facebook because it's so good!