Picture this: you’ve just found the most perfect recipe for homemade pumpkin pie. You’ve cleared your schedule, cleaned your kitchen, purchased the ingredients, including pumpkin puree…and now all there is left to do is bake.
You begin adding ingredients to the mixing bowl with precision and care until you come to the pinnacle moment that gives your pie its very essence: the can of pumpkin puree. (Of course, if you take the time to process your own pumpkin every time you bake a pie, my hat is off to you. Sometimes we only have time for a two hour project, so a can of the sweet orange stuff will have to do!)
After adding the necessary puree to the bowl, your stomach falls to the floor. You realize, hands shaking, that you have an odd amount of leftover pumpkin in the can. You know logically that if you cover it with cling film and try to save it, it will kick around in the fridge for longer than you’d like until you find some use for it or at last throw it away. Even the dogs have started rolling their eyes at you when you continue to offer them spoonfuls…they’ve seen this all play out before.
Fear not, reader. There is an easy, delicious use for the odd amount of pumpkin puree that you’ve always wondered what to do with. The solution in this case, and in many other cases, is: pasta.
Sweet and Spicy Vegan Pumpkin Puree Pasta
For those of you who are paying attention to how much dairy you consume, this recipe was created with the intention of making it vegan. (If you’d rather have your dairy, feel free to substitute heavy whipping cream for coconut cream and parmesan for capers.) With the holiday season upon us, I found myself craving something relatively healthy and light.
This recipe can all be made in one pot, for those of you who prefer to do less dishes. I have a feeling I am not alone in this…
Toast the walnuts while you are making your sauce. Chop them up to your desired coarseness when they are cool enough to touch. Add red pepper flakes, torn parsley, and capers.
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta of your choice
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk, with cream
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 2 Tbs capers
- 4 Tbs fresh parsley, torn or chopped
- 1/4 Tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- salt, to taste
- freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed sauce pot, bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil.
- Chop parsley and set aside. Measure out pumpkin and coconut and set aside.
- Boil pasta until al dente, 7-12 minutes. Meanwhile, toast walnuts until fragrant and golden brown, about 5 minutes. When cool enough to touch, coarsley chop walnuts and set aside.
- Drain pasta. Add oil to pot and turn heat to medium. Add red pepper flakes and "bloom" in the oil, cooking for several minutes until the color and flavor starts to bleed into the oil.
- Turn heat to low, add pumpkin and coconut cream and stir. Turn heat off, and add drained pasta, parsley, walnuts, and capers, stirring to combine. Taste, adding salt and pepper as needed.
Other Ways to Use Up Pumpkin Puree
I made this tonight and subtitled butternut squash, because I had several. It was wonderful! The toasted walnuts were a crowning touch. The pepper in the oil was a great flavor boost. I used gluten-free Banza Rotini pasta, made with chickpea. Delicious!