OMG! PUMPKIN LINGUINE WITH KALE & WALNUTS! Pumpkin pasta, where have you been all my life? Eating this pumpkin linguine make me think I am in some fancy lil restaurant enjoying a bowl of crazy good pasta but much to my surprise I am sitting at our dinner table with the hubs. 🙂 All the better!! Simply because that is my goal–to bring simple, healthy, and delicious homemade meals into your home.
For the longest time, cooking pasta has been a little intimidating for me. Basically, there is one main reason: 1) How do I get not only perfect tasting but also looking noodles? I have had noodles that are mushy, ones that stick together like white on rice, and once in awhile noodles that turn out okay. But I want better noodles than that! I want restaurant quality noodles that swirl around on my fork just perfectly with a taste that makes me go “WOW!” AND THAT IS WHAT I AM GOING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TODAY!!
The credit for this pasta making process goes to Bon Appetit. I grabbed my latest issue the other day and immediately noticed on the cover there it was, “How to make perfect pasta.” Yes! I thought, finally! I need to read more into this because I simply love pasta, especially in the fall and winter months when I am loving some warm, comfort food. It isn’t even about the pasta itself that I like. I have this picture in my mind that on a cold, Fall evening it would be so cozy to grab a bowl of yummy pasta and sit in front of the fire cuddling up with my hubs and kiddos. I mean, honestly how fun does that sound?!! I think it sounds awesome!!
Pasta Making Secrets
1. Use a dutch oven. A large pot like this will prevent your pasta from falling out the sides and making a mess meaning less cleanup for you!
2. Create your flavors. Start with heating olive oil in the Dutch oven. Use enough oil to cover the bottom and heat over medium-low heat. Add aromatics like garlic or shallots to add flavor to your pasta. Next, begin adding mushrooms, onions, or additional veggies until they are tender. In this recipe I started with garlic and added onions.
3. Get the pasta going. In a pot of salted water, cook the noodles until they are several minutes shy of al dente. I cooked linguine in a pot of water for 5 minutes. Then transfer noodles with pasta fork to the Dutch oven. Add a cup of pasta water as well. The noodles should be swimming in the liquid and the liquid should be bubbling.
4. Toss, toss, and toss again. Toss the pasta again and again as the pasta finishes cooking. Add a little more pasta water if needed. Toss some more and then slowly stir in some grated cheese like Parmesan until it melts completely.
5. Finish it up. Continue tossing pasta until each strand is coated and no bits of grated cheese remain. Remove from heat and if desired add cheese on top.
The steps above are a great tool to cooking any pasta because it takes the pressure off the recipe and emphasizes the pasta cooking process. It is easy to change things up using these steps and have an entirely different meal with just a few change of ingredients! Love these pasta cooking tricks!!
Now it is time to enjoy some delicious pumpkin linguine with kale and walnuts!!
Pumpkin Linguine with Kale & Walnuts
Ingredients
- 8 oz linguine
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup pasta water
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese + more for garnishing if desired
- 1 cup loosely packed kale
- 2 tablespoons half and half
- crushed walnuts
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in Dutch oven. Olive oil should cover the entire bottom. Add garlic and onions and saute for 2-3 minutes or long enough for onions to soften. Add pumpkin puree, nutmeg, and chicken broth. Stir to combine.
- In the meantime, in a pot of salted water, cook linguine until several minutes prior to al dente. I cooked the linguine in the pot for 5 minutes. Then transfer linguine with pasta fork to Dutch oven. Add 1 cup pasta water with noodles. Noodles should be swimming in the liquid and liquid should be bubbling.
- Toss the pasta continuously for a few minutes. Add more pasta water if needed. Toss again and then add Parmesan cheese slowly and toss linguine until cheese has melted completely and coats pasta evenly.
- Add kale and half and half and stir until kale has just wilted. Remove from heat.
- Serve topped with walnuts and grated Parmesan if desired.
- Enjoy!
