Okay, so I’ve been seeing all these gorgeous fall recipes popping up, and I got inspired to do something with pumpkin and ricotta. I wasn’t sure what exactly, but I had both ingredients and figured, why not experiment?
First, I roasted the pumpkin. I just halved a small sugar pumpkin, scooped out the seeds (saved those for roasting later!), and drizzled it with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. I popped it into the oven at, like, 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes, until it was nice and soft.
While that was roasting, I thought about what to do. Pasta? Toast? A dip? I had some leftover cooked pasta in the fridge, so I figured I’d go that route. I got out my ricotta – I used the whole milk kind, because, let’s be honest, it’s just better – and set that aside.
Putting it all Together
Once the pumpkin was cool enough to handle, I scooped out the flesh and put it in a bowl. I mashed it up a bit with a fork – didn’t want it totally smooth, just kind of chunky.
Then into a pan and add some butter,sauteed for one minute.
Next, I added a big dollop of the ricotta to the pumpkin, and some grated Parmesan cheese,maybe half ricotta and half Parmesan, and stired all. Salt and pepper, obviously. I also added a pinch of nutmeg – gotta have that fall flavor!
I tossed the cooked pasta with the pumpkin-ricotta mixture. It was looking a little dry, so I added a splash of the pasta cooking water to loosen things up. You know, that starchy water is gold!
- Roast pumpkin
- Mix with ricotta and Parmesan
- Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper
- Toss with pasta
- Add pasta water to adjust consistency
And that was it! Seriously, so easy. I sprinkled a little extra Parmesan on top and, honestly, it was delicious. Creamy, savory, a little sweet from the pumpkin… perfect for a cozy night in.
Next time, maybe I’ll try adding some toasted walnuts or sage. Or both! The possibilities are endless, really. This is definitely going to be a new fall staple for me.
