Il Cucinologo
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Pasta with Parsley and Pumpkin Pesto

17/11/2023

I can suggest an Italian version of parsley and pumpkin pesto pasta. This is an excellent autumn or winter combination that unites the sweetness of the pumpkin with the fresh and slightly spicy flavor of the parsley. Here is the recipe to prepare a tasty and colorful dish.

Ingredients

  • 320 g of pasta (penne, fusilli or another shape of your choice)
  • 300 g of pumpkin, cleaned and cut into cubes
  • 1 bunch of fresh parsley
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 30 g of pine nuts
  • 30 g of grated Parmesan
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Pasta cooking water to taste

Preparation

  1. Start by cooking the pumpkin. You can steam it, bake it at 180 °C for about 20 minutes, or cook it in a pan with a drizzle of oil and a little water, covering with a lid until it becomes tender.
  2. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Remember to reserve some of the cooking water before draining the pasta.
  3. For the parsley pesto, wash and dry the parsley, then remove the leaves from the stems. In a food processor or with an immersion blender, combine the parsley, pine nuts, peeled garlic, Parmesan, a pinch of salt and pepper, and blend everything, adding the extra virgin olive oil in a steady stream until you obtain a smooth and creamy sauce.
  4. In a large pan, if you want to enhance the flavor of the pumpkin, you could briefly sauté it with a drizzle of oil and a garlic clove in its skin.
  5. Add some of the pasta cooking water to the parsley pesto to make it more fluid.
  6. Add the drained pasta to the pan with the pumpkin, remove the garlic and pour the diluted parsley pesto over it. Mix well to combine everything. If necessary, add more cooking liquid to achieve the desired consistency.
  7. Serve the pasta immediately, garnished with extra Parmesan if desired or freshly ground black pepper.

Trivia

Pesto, typically made with basil and pine nuts, has various regional variants in Italy; the parsley version is less common but offers a fresh flavor and a nice variation. Pumpkin is widely used in Italian cuisine, especially in the northern regions like Veneto and Lombardy, where it is incorporated into many first courses and risottos.