Pumpkin Pasta

Ingredients:

For the dough

500g plain flour 

200g pumpkin purée (shop bought or homemade)

1/2 tbsp of salt 

For the sauce

50g butter   

1 red onion 

1 tbsp dry garlic (you can use fresh as well) 

50-100g parmesan 

Little bit of green garnish 

Salt to your taste

Black pepper - optional

Method:

If you are using fresh pumpkin give it a good wash and cut it in half. Take out the seeds. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray and. bake for about 45 min at 180°C (356°F) . Once baked and slightly cooked, scrape all the flesh into a blender and finely blend. You will need about 200g of purée for 500g of flour. You may need more or less depending on how much liquid the pumpkin has. Start with about 200g, or add extra flour or extra purée if it is too runny. The dough must be tough and non-sticky but easy to roll for this type of pasta (like the video)

Pour flour onto a clean surface, make a little hole in the middle of the flour and add salt and pumpkin purée. Take a fork and starting from the edges incorporate the flour into the pumpkin purée. Once it is difficult to swirl with a fork, get your hands involved and form a smooth dough. Cover it with a damp cloth and leave for half an hour. Or, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge until you need to use it. Tip: It can last 2-3 days in the fridge. You could also freeze it but you may need to add extra flour once it has defrosted.

Once rested, cut into 4 pieces and roll into little sausages about 2-3cm diameter (this is the best way to describe it!) Then I cut them into small 1 -2 cm chunks. Roll into a ball. If you have a wooden board with grooves (like in the video) that's great but don’t worry if you don't! Take an upside down fork and starting at the top of the fork, slightly press the ball down and roll (as I do in the video). It is really simple.

Boil a big pot of water - make sure there is plenty of water as these little chickens need to swim, haha! Once the water is boiling, add a pinch of salt and pour all of the pasta in. Stir straight away. When the pasta starts to appear on the top of the water, leave it to simmer for 5-10 minutes. The time depends on how thick you made them. The best thing to do is take one out after 5 minutes of simmering and taste it.

In the meantime, melt butter in a pan and add finely chopped onion, garlic and seasoning. Strain the pasta from the water and put it straight into the hot pan. I always add a bit of pasta water as that helps release more starch. Combined with the parmesan it creates a beautiful coating onto our little pumpkin pasta! Toss it into this delicious sauce for a few minutes then serve. Use some greenery and extra parmesan for garnish. Enjoy!