ROOTS & WINGS

40. Pumpkin-"Scissor"-Pasta with Chanterelles + Bacon

Granted, I already did a pumpkin pasta recipe => "4. Pumpkin Ravioli" .

BUT: the difference here is that the former was filled with pumpkin while THIS one is (at least partly) made of pumpkin.

Yeah, I'm still a pumpkin nut, and LOVE to use it for as long as it's available as it's one of my FAVE vegs.

This recipe was once more the reason a cookbook made it home with me. C'mon! Placing a book called KüRBISLIEBE (Pumpkin Love) in eye height before me... what am I to do!?

As hinted at, the book's by Saskia van Deelen, called , and – of course – only available in German. (But if you love a good challenge... C'mon, there are worse - and less yummy – ways to learn a foreign language)

Actually, ingredient-wise these are done pretty easily, but I didn't get past the scissors part! I mean everything involving pumpkin puree has the potential to become a pretty soft and soggy affair, even after some rest in the fridge. I thought it would be a bloody mess with crusted scissors in the end, but NO!

If you do this one, cut off the pasta from the dough ball right in front of your friends / family before cooking. Their reaction might be interesting.

Anyway, enough babble, off to the kitchen.

As always, bring some time – pasta's an unhasting dish.



Serves: 2 (4) Once more, I HALVED the recipe as I'm ALONE. I prepped 2 separate portions each to get to the 4.

Prep Time: about +/– ~ 2 hrs Depending also on how long the dough needs to firm up

Degree of Difficulty: Easy – but GEMACH (slowly)




WE NEED


PASTA


500 gr / 1 lb. 1.75 oz. flour
salt
400 gr / ~ 14 oz. Hokkaido pumpkin puree Then they're bright orange.



CHANTERELLE / MUSHROOM RAGOUT


1 red onion
2 garlic cloves
300 gr / 10.6 oz. chanterelles Granted, they're RARE. So any SAVORY mushroom will do
3-4 stalks thyme
35 / 1.25 oz. clarified butter
100 gr / 3.5 oz. veg stock With the SHORTEST ingredients list => LESSER health-degenerating additives
200 ml / 6.75 US fl.oz. cream
1 tsp starch
salt
pepper
1 dash lemon juice
2 tbsp parmesan ONLY reggiano – as this is a Protected Designation of Origin => you get the REAL thing, and NOT some cheap FAKE



Bacon

4 slices bacon
4 tsp maple syrup From CANADA, please.




WE DO


1. PUMPKIN PUREE: I do it fresh to avoid any health-degenerating additives NOT belonging in it Deseed + chop the pumpkin and cook 400 gr / 14 oz. with 1-2 oz. water on middle heat until soft. 15-20 minutes – but keep an eye on it! When the water boils away too quickly, the pumpkin burns into the pot Then puree the pumpkin and let it cool.



2. In the meantime, PREP WORK! => Mix flour + salt in a bowl. Cook the veg stock. Peel and finely chop onion + garlic. Wash, shake dry + remove "needles" from the thyme sprigs. If you fancy it, leave some for garnishing. If necessary, clean chanterelles/mushrooms with a brush. DON'T WASH them The water turns them into a SORRY, SOGGY MESS. Grate the parmesan.



3. When cooled off, add the pumpkin puree to the flour mix and knead GENTLY until you have a supple dough. I start with the kneading hooks of my hand mixer – don't like the gooey sogginess on my hands, a bloody mess to get rid of! – and then continue with my hands. Shape the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with a dishtowel, and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes OR: until it has a firm / compact texture. That's IMPORTANT – otherwise... yeah, BUT: for a change a SMEARY mess.



4. In the meantime, finish any PREP WORK. Then, heat the clarified butter in a non-stick pan, and brown the chanterelles / mushrooms. They LOSE water in the process, so let that cook off FIRST Otherwise? Yup. Gooey, Soggy Mess. Then, add onion, garlic + thyme and briefly fry them. (2-3 minutes.) Deglaze with veg stock + cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Dissolve the starch in cold water – NO specification how much I used about 1.5 oz. – and thicken the sauce and season it with salt, pepper + lemon juice.






5. Coat/Brush the bacon with the maple syrup and fry it in a non-stick pan until crispy and let it drain on kitchen towels.



6. Bring water to the boil in a large pot and salt. Then dust a cutting board with flour. The pasta is "residually" soggy and will get stuck on it otherwise, and lose its shape when you scrape it off Then, take the dough ball in your hand and cut off 2-3 cm/1 in pasta with the scissors. When you get it GOOD, they look like (snail) shells! When you make the WHOLE recipe, CONSIDER that it might take 2-3 cooking rounds Now, drop/scrape the pasta into the pot and cook it for 4-5 minutes OR until it swims on the surface. That can take longer/shorter, too: in my case 3 minutes the first time, and like 6 the other






6. Drain, then add the pasta to the chanterelle/mushroom ragout. Distribute the mix on the needed number of plates/bowls, crumble the bacon on top, garnish with parmesan + thyme, and then...



GUTEN HUNGER!