Pumpkin Dream Turns to Nightmare

Does anyone else watch food network? Have you seen that show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”? If I were on that show I know exactly what I would talk about.
In 2006, my sister and I took our first journey that was just the two of us. We went to New York City, and then took the train up to Boston. New York is awesome, but I am more of a Boston girl. As absurd as this sounds, I had better Italian food in The North End than I had in parts of Italy. Is that sacrilege? 


The North End is a glutinous (oh, delicious pasta!) heaven of goodness. Needless to say, it only lives in my dreams. I am haunted with memories of my first cannoli, my second cannoli, and (ALRIGHT ALREADY) maybe even my third cannoli. I had some of the best pizza of my life there as well.

Hungry yet?

Those were all well and good, but they pale in comparison to THE infamous meal my sister and I had. We waited in a line that went down the block and around the corner. For an hour and a half minimum. We could smell tomatoes, garlic, sage, onions, and some mysterious goodness. The gumbiling of our stomachs created a symphony with the others in line. Thankfully, the proprietors took pity upon us. Wait staff offered water and passed freshly baked bread with marinara sauce. We became friends with the people who would be sitting half a foot away from us in one of the twelve other seats in the restaurant.

It felt as if we were in on some secret ritual. Did we need to learn a secret handshake?
The place? Giacomo's in Boston.

The meal? Calamari friti (fried calamari) and pumpkin tortellini.

If this doesn't sound exciting to you, you CLEARLY have not been to Giacomo's. I’m going to gloss over the calamari this time, but know it was spicy and perfect. That pumpkin tortellini – the crown jewel of that meal - that is the stuff dreams are made of. I'm salavating thinking about it.

I've been trying to get the recipe right and just can't. I guess I don't have that Italian magic pulsing through my veins.

I used fresh pumpkin, canned pumpkin, etc. I had one note worthy awful nightmare of making this - I added too much wine (that was more floral than I thought it would be in the sauce) and YUCK! Sometimes in life things are just better when they're made at a restaurant.

Instead of deleting this post completely, I've decided to post it anyway. This is my closest approximation/adaptation of the pumpkin tortellini that haunts my dreams. 


Bonus: This is a bit more figure friendly than the recipe that is on the Food network website. Besides, they don’t give you the details on the filling for the tortellini anyway. Sneaky.

This is “Pumpkin and Sage Pasta”
1 can organic pumpkin or roast one at home, like I did below (Ignore steps 1 - 4 if using canned)
1 bunch fresh sage (set aside 4 to 8 whole, beautiful leaves)
2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
2 tsp Buttery spread
2 Tbs Olive Oil
Water or stock of your choice (chicken, vegetable, etc)
Pasta of your choice (Shells recommended)
Roasted Pumpkin seeds (if using canned pumpkin, grab some pine nuts or pumpkin seeds at the store to roast)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Serves: A lot! Four people easily.
Preheat oven to 375 F

You will need: a baking sheet, serrated knife (for cutting the pumpkin), a paring or chef's knife (check out this great knife set with all three knives), a deep sided pan, a regular spoon and a wooden spoon or spatula.

Step 1: Roast the sugar pumpkin. To do this, cut your pumpkin in half with a serrated knife. Remove the stem with the knife. Scrape out the stringy bits or “guts” (as I like to call them) and seeds with a spoon. Set the seeds aside. 

Step 2: Lay your pumpkin cut side down on a lined baking sheet (use aSilpat, parchment paper, or foil for easy cleanup). Roast at 375 for a half hour or so. The flesh should be very tender and your nose will tell you when it's ready. 

* Tip: For more detailed information, allrecipes.com has a very helpful section about baking with fresh pumpkin.

Step 3: Roast the seeds you set aside 375 for about 10 minutes with a generous sprinkling of salt. Stir them around at 5 minutes in. Your nose will let you know when they're done. Let the pumpkin cool for about 15 minutes.


Step 4: Scrape out the pumpkin from its skin (separate the flesh and skin) and puree in a food processor or through a fine sieve.

Step 5: Heat 2 tsp buttery spread in a large, deep-sided skillet on medium heat. Wait for it to bubble and brown. It should smell nutty (especially if you use real butter). Add 2 Tbs olive oil. Let the heat rise. Your hand should feel warm (not hot) if you hover it above the pan.

Step 6: Place in 4 to 8 whole sage leaves. Let them brown. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Salt them immediately. Reserve these for later. Keep oil and butter.

Step 7: Begin to prepare your pasta according to package directions.

Step 8: Add 1 Tbs finely chopped fresh sage. Also add the fresh cracked black pepper to the hot butter and olive oil mixture. Cook until it smells nice and fragrant. About 10 seconds.

Step 9: Add your pumpkin puree. Stir together. Add in your stock (or water) until it is as thick as you’d like it. Turn off heat under the pan.

Step 10: Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Add roasted pumpkin seeds. Toss together.

Step 11: Serve with your crispy sage leaves. Enjoy.

Serving suggestions: Serve with a paprika chicken breast on the side. Make some Kale Chips, or steam some green beans to make it a square meal. Or eat it alone.

Variations:
1. Water is FINE but, if you can stomach it, using real butter and some heavy cream would make this even more decadent.

This is lecker. I hope your Pumpkin and Sage Pasta is lecker too.