Pumpkin pasta with pecorino sauce, coffee & almonds

If you read the name of this recipe out loud I am sure you can find an ingredient that might sound strange if associated with pasta, but don’t worry, I haven’t got insane. Try it for yourself :)

Chef’s tip: butternut squash works just fine too.

 Serves: 2 // Preparation Time: 30 minutes // Cooking Time:  30 minutes

Ingredients

• 250 g of pasta

• 1 small onion

• 250 gr of pumpkin

• 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

• 1 bay leaf

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Coffee powder to dust

• 20 gr chopped toasted almonds to garnish

For the pecorino sauce

• 300 ml of double cream

• 200 gr of grated pecorino cheese

• Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1

Start by preparing the pumpkin puree. Sweat the chopped onion and pumpkin with olive oil and a pinch of salt. After a few minutes add the bay leaf and keep cooking on medium heat with a lid. Mix every now and then and add a splash of water only if the pumpkin starts to dry up too much. When soft and cooked through, remove the bay leaf and blitz everything into a blender and check the seasoning. Put the pumpkin puree back into the pan and keep on the side.

Step 2

To prepare the pecorino cheese sauce simply gently heat the cream until boiling. Now remove from the heat and stir in the grated pecorino until it melts nicely. The remaining heat should melt the cheese. Blitz only if necessary to remove cheese lumps.

Step 3

Cook the Paccheri in salted boiling water for 12 minutes until al dente. Drain and toss straight away into the pumpkin puree. Stir and toss the pasta on high heat for 1 minute and add a ladle of pasta water and a drizzle of oil to loosen up the sauce. Mix until well-coated. Season to taste.

Step 4

Plate the pasta straight away and top with a generous amount of pecorino cheese sauce, a touch of coffee powder and a sprinkle of chopped toasted almonds.