Pumpkin Pasta Party
If there’s one thing I love about fall, it’s how people embrace the combination of pumpkin and pasta. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some people who view it as a bizarre combination. Pasta is associated with being more savory and pumpkin is typically more sweet. As a whole, I think more and more people have come to love anything pumpkin flavored during the fall. Because I love a good sweet and savory dish, I can’t help but think about how pasta and pumpkin make for a delicious combination. However, if you’re more of a savory lover, I’ve got just the right pumpkin pasta recipe for you. This Creamy Curried Pumpkin Pasta has the creamiest pumpkin sauce that’s flavored with robust savory spices. Pasta is tossed together with a brown butter pumpkin sauce mixed with heavy cream, curry powder, red pepper flakes and nutmeg. Then it’s topped with a homemade whipped ricotta and toasted sage leaves. This dish is the perfect depiction of fall in your mouth!
Easy Whipped Ricotta
If you’re into the food scene, you know that whipped ricotta has been all the craze lately. You see it at restaurants and on top of the trending pasta recipes online. And honestly, it deserves the hype. I love the creaminess that it adds and the contrast of the cold ricotta with the hot food it’s served with. That being said, I thought it would be a delicious addition to this Creamy Curried Pumpkin Pasta. The best part is that it’s so easy to make at home!
You don’t need too many ingredients to make whipped ricotta. I feel like the whole point of it is to let its creaminess and milkiness shine. So instead of having a lot of ingredients that could overpower it, we’re sticking with minimal ingredients that will only enhance it. Add the ricotta, heavy cream, olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper into a food processor. Blend until it becomes smooth and creamy then transfer it into a bowl and set it aside in the fridge. Can you believe how easy that came together?
The Layers of Flavor.
Now, we can start on the pasta and sauce! Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Rinse it under cold water, drain it, and set aside. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add in the butter and allow it to melt. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until it starts to turn a light brown color. Mix in the sage leaves and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for about 2 minutes until the sage leaves have toasted and lightly browned. Remove the sage from the pan and set it aside. I love this step because now we have browned butter which will add a nutty flavor to the sauce. Simultaneously, the aromatics and flavor from the sage are now infused into the butter which will also get combined into the sauce. It’s all about building the flavors in layers!
Silky Smooth
Increase the heat back to medium heat. Add in the shallots and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the shallots turn translucent. Mix in the curry powder, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg. Cook for about a minute until the spices activate and become aromatic. Mix in the pumpkin puree and heavy cream until combined. Transfer the sauce into a blender and blend until smooth. I know this step make seem a little extra, but it is so worth it. This step is what’s going to create the velvety, smooth consistency of the sauce. Not only are the shallots and garlic getting blended in, but also the sauce is getting slightly whipped, which helps to create that creamy silkiness.
Pour the sauce back into the same pan and heat it over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until it comes to a bubble. Remove the pan from heat and season with the salt and pepper. Mix in the pasta until well coated in the sauce. To serve, portion the pasta between bowls. Add a dollop of the whipped ricotta onto the pasta. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and add a touch more black pepper and lemon zest. Top with the browned sage leaves and enjoy!
Creamy and Dreamy
When you take a bite of this pasta, you’re going to be so glad that you went the extra mile to blend the sauce. I kid you not, this may be one of my favorite creamy pasta dishes I’ve made as of late. You wouldn’t think that the mouthfeel of a sauce would play such an important role on how food tastes, but it does. The creaminess of the sauce paired with the creamy whipped ricotta is so dreamy. Sometimes you just want a big ole bowl of pasta mixed with creamy sauce, nothing else. This Creamy Curried Pumpkin Pasta is exactly that but it also has its own personality. The one thing with pumpkin pasta is that it can sometimes fall a little flat. Pumpkin doesn’t have a lot of flavor, so you need other ingredients and flavors to enhance it. The curry powder isn’t too overpowering but there’s definitely just the right amount mixed in to give it its own distinct flavor profile. Try this dish out this fall, and let me know if you enjoy this savory take on pumpkin pasta!
Creamy Curried Pumpkin Pasta
Ingredients
For the Whipped Ricotta:
- ¾ cup Whole Milk Ricotta
- 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1½ Tbsp Olive Oil
- ½ a Lemon Zested
- ¼ tsp Kosher Salt
- Pinch of Black Pepper
For the Curried Pumpkin Pasta:
- 8 oz. Pasta of Your Choice
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 10 Small to Medium Sized Sage Leaves
- ½ a Shallot (finely chopped)
- 1 Garlic Clove (minced)
- 2 tsp Curry Powder
- ¼ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- ⅛ tsp Nutmeg
- ¾ cup Pumpkin Puree
- ¾ cup Heavy Cream
- ½ Kosher Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- As Needed Olive Oil (for drizzling on top)
- 1 Lemon (for zesting on top)
Instructions
For the Whipped Ricotta:
- Add all of the ingredients for the whipped ricotta into a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer it into a bowl and set it aside in the fridge.
For the Curried Pumpkin Pasta:
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add in the butter and allow it to melt. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until it starts to turn a light brown color. Mix in the sage leaves and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for about 2 minutes until the sage leaves have toasted and lightly browned. Remove the sage from the pan and set it aside.
- Increase the heat back to medium heat. Add in the shallots and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the shallots turn translucent. Mix in the curry powder, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg. Cook for about a minute until the spices activate and become aromatic. Mix in the pumpkin puree and heavy cream until combined.
- Transfer the sauce into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the same pan and heat it over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until it comes to a bubble. Remove the pan from heat and season with the salt and pepper. Mix in the pasta until well coated in the sauce.
- To serve, portion the pasta between bowls. Add a dollop of the whipped ricotta onto the pasta. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top and add a touch more black pepper and lemon zest. Top with the browned sage leaves and enjoy!
