Pumpkin Pasta Sauce (Without Cream)

Ingredients

• 13 oz / 360g pasta
• 2.2 lb / 1kg pumpkin
• 2 whole heads of garlic
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• Handful sage leaves
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less depending how spicy you like it)
• 3 oz / 80g parmesan cheese
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C

2. 2

   Chop pumpkin into pieces, cut the skin off and place in a baking dish. Chop the top off the garlic heads and place into the same dish

3. 3

   Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the pumpkin and garlic and season with salt. Massage the oil into the vegetables so they are all nicely coated and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Check with a fork or toothpick that the pumpkin has softened

4. 4

   Allow to cool slightly then squeeze the garlic bulbs so that the flesh pops out and into the pumpkin dish. Using an immersion blender or blender, blend the pumpkin and garlic until smooth and there are no chunks

5. 5

   Boil pasta in heavily salted water. At the same time, saute the sage leaves in a skillet over medium heat with a spoon of olive oil for a few minutes

6. 6

   Remove the sage leaves once crisp and add the red pepper flakes. After a minute add the pumpkin puree with a ladle of pasta water

7. 7

   When the pasta is almost cooked and al dente, add pasta straight to the pan. Add grated parmesan cheese along with a ladle of reserved pasta water. Gently mix until well combined, adding more pasta water if needed or if too thick

8. 8

   Top with the crispy sage leaves, freshly grated parmesan cheese and ground black pepper and enjoy your delicious pumpkin pasta !