Creamy pasta with minced meatballs and pumpkin

Soft minced meatballs, sweet pumpkin and a creamy sauce over pasta: this is the dish you can serve on weekdays and on Sundays. Easy to make, hard to forget.

📝 Ingredients

• 400 g pappardelle or rigatoni
• 500 g mixed minced meat (beef/pork)
• 400 g pumpkin (e.g. butternut squash), in cubes
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic (2 for the meatballs, 1 for the sauce)
• 50 g Parmesan, grated (plus extra for serving)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
• pinch of nutmeg
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 200 ml heavy cream
• 150 ml chicken broth
• 1 knob of butter
• olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• fresh sage, to serve

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Cut the pumpkin into cubes of about 2 cm. Heat a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and sauté the pumpkin cubes for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown and tender. Set aside.Mix the minced meat with the grated garlic, Parmesan, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. With damp hands, roll small balls about the size of a walnut.Brown the meatballs in the frying pan with a little oil all over, about 6 to 8 minutes over medium heat. They don't need to be completely cooked through yet, as they'll finish cooking in the sauce.Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Drain and reserve a cup of the cooking water.In the same frying pan, sweat the shallots in a knob of butter until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 minute. Deglaze with the white wine and let it reduce briefly.Add the heavy cream and the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and let the sauce cook for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly thickened. Add half of the pumpkin cubes and roughly purée the sauce with an immersion blender so you get a creamy but still slightly textured sauce.Return the meatballs to the sauce and let them warm through over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the remaining pumpkin cubes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.Toss the pasta through the sauce. Add a splash of the reserved cooking water if the sauce is too thick. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan, fresh sage and a grind of black pepper.