Don’t you just love fall food? I do, and while I am not a huge pumpkin spice fan, I do love squash and pumpkin in savory recipes. I was playing around and looking at recipes, and I stumbled upon this delicious recipe and decided to make it for my boyfriend and I. I’m basically retelling it to you now, But I wanted to spread the word so more people could make this easy and delicious fall meal. I am no chef, but it worked no problem! I made a double batch and froze half of the sauce for a quick, week night meal.
Ingredients:
- 1 box of rigatoni
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup heavy cream (I used milk)
- 1–2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Optional squeeze of lemon (I didn’t)
Walnuts:
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1–2 tablespoons brown sugar
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Steps:
- Rosemary Walnuts: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange chopped walnuts on a small sheet pan and toast in the oven for 10 minutes (less if you don’t like them dark). Remove from the oven and toss with rosemary, melted butter, sugar, salt, and pepper. Let cool.
- Pasta: Cook according to package and drain.
- Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce: While the pasta cooks, heat the butter in a skillet over low heat. Add the garlic and saute. Add the pumpkin and broth; simmer until smooth. Add the cream and salt; simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. . Add cooked pasta to the sauce.
Look how easy that is! Delicious and quick…I definitely will be making again (with cream instead of milk). Also, those walnuts are good enough to just snack on!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.