Disclaimer: I received a travel stipend and am paid to write about Pumpkinferno by The Great Waterway. This is one of two articles. The articles will also appear on The Great Waterway blog. I chose and organized my own itinerary and all opinions are my own. All photography is my own.
Remember when my family and I got to visit Pumpkinferno at Upper Canada Village? Well, with all those pumpkins serving as inspiration, The Great Waterway asked me to create a recipe inspired by the Pumpkinferno event.
Looking at thousands of pumpkins arranged in beautiful installations will inspire you to cook a whole cookbook’s worth of fall recipes. I prefer savoury to sweet when it comes to pumpkin and pasta is often a favourite in my house.
Combining mushrooms with the pumpkin makes this meal filling and evokes a wonderful feeling of fall. The colours look great together and my kids loved it (my son picked out the pumpkin, but I know he wasn’t able to avoid all of it). You can make this with your favourite type of pumpkin or squash and your choice of mushrooms.
Ingredients
- 1 box pasta of choice (I like something that can hold some of the sauce in ridges)
- 1 small pumpkin or squash of choice
- 1 1/2 cups of chopped portabella mushrooms or mushrooms of choice - cleaned but not washed!
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- 1 - 2 tablespoons of butter
- Olive Oil
- Coarse salt and pepper
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Cut your pumpkin into wedges, season with salt and pepper and lay flat on a well greased cookie sheet or in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and roast until soft but not mushy, about 25 minutes (cooking time varies depending on type of pumpkin or squash you use).
- While pumpkin is roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. As soon as water is boiling, add your pasta and cook according to package instructions, drain. Try to have pasta ready at the same time your sauce (including pumpkin) is ready.
- In a large frying pan, melt butter on medium heat, add onions and cook until soft. Then add mushrooms and cook until they release their juices, stirring occasionally. Season with salt, pepper and sprigs of thyme. Add cream, mix well and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and let the mixture cook until cream thickens.
- Once pumpkin is soft, remove from oven and cut from peel into 1 inch pieces. Add to mushroom cream mixture and toss quickly. Turn off heat, season with more salt and pepper if you need to. Add freshly cooked pasta, toss to coat and sprinkle with some grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.
Notes
You can use leftover roasted pumpkin for this or make your pumpkin ahead of time for an even quicker meal. Use full fat heavy cream in order for the sauce to thicken.
Disclaimer: I received a travel stipend and am paid to write about Pumpkinferno by The Great Waterway. This is one of two articles. The articles will also appear on The Great Waterway blog. I chose and organized my own itinerary and all opinions are my own. All photography is my own.
