Roasted Garlic Pumpkin Alfredo
This is THE most delicious way to spruce up the classic Alfredo!
Servings: 4
Cost: £2.50 / $3
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Foil (for roasting garlic)
- Large Baking Tray
- Food Processor & Spatula
- Large Pan
- Fine Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 500g / 1lb Pumpkin or Butternut Squash, diced into chunks (see notes)
- 1 small bulb of Garlic
- 400g / 14oz Dried Fettuccine or Tagliatelle (or long-cut pasta of choice)
- 180ml / 3/4 cup Double/Heavy Cream
- 2 tsp Vegetable Bouillon Powder (see notes)
- 1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 5 tbsp / 75g Unsalted Butter
- 80g / 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan (see notes)
- Olive Oil, as needed
- Salt & Black Pepper, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Combine the pumpkin with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper on a large baking tray. Slice the tip off a small bulb of garlic to expose the cloves. Drizzle with a dash of oil then wrap in foil and place in the middle of the tray.
- Roast everything for 45mins, or until the pumpkin is fork tender and the garlic is super soft, golden and caramelized. They should roast at similar rates, but carry on roasting the garlic if it needs a little longer. With the same token, pull the pumpkin out early if it starts charring (a little colour is fine). Leave everything to cool for 5 mins.
- Pop the pasta in well-salted water and cook until al dente.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic into a food processor and blend until smooth with the pumpkin and around 1/3 cup / 80ml pasta water.
- In a large pan over low heat, stir the cream, pumpkin puree, veg bouillon, nutmeg and 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Stir in the butter until it melts and blends into the sauce, then use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta straight from the pot into the pan, embracing any water that comes with it.
- Toss to combine, then toss in the parmesan, using more leftover pasta water to thin out the sauce a splash at a time if needed. Check for seasoning and adjust if needed (ensure it's seasoned well to bring out the best in this simple sauce) then serve up and enjoy!
Video
Notes
a) Pumpkin - Depending on the time of year you might not be able to find fresh pumpkin, so butternut squash or acorn squash make great subs. The weight (500g/1lb) is AFTER being peeled i.e. just the chunks. If you're in the US you could use pumpkin puree, of which I recommend using 1 cups worth.
b) Vegetable Bouillon - This is an important ingredient as it adds a savoury tone to the sauce to balance out the sweetness of the garlic/pumpkin. It also adds some depth of flavour. You'll find it in most supermarkets, usually in a small tub. If you can't then sub 1 crumbled vegetable Oxo cube.
c) Parmesan - Again, this is an important ingredient to balance out the sweetness in the sauce. I find you need to use the whole weight in order to create a well-balanced sauce, but you might not find you need it all. If at all wary, just work it in a handful at a time until you're satisfied with the balance of flavours. In all cases, make sure it's freshly grated, not the powdered stuff. Freshly grated will blend through the sauce with much more ease.
d) Pasta water - Make sure your pasta water is well seasoned, so you don't dilute the flavour of the sauce. I also recommend you don't overfill with water - just enough to comfortably cook the pasta, just so the water is as starchy as possible.
e) Consistency - The sauce will be quite thick at the start, but as you start to toss the pasta and incorporate some pasta water, it'll start turning in to a creamy, glossy sauce.
f) Additions - The end result is subtle, but really luscious and creamy. It's got a mellow flavour, but all of the individual components come together to create a really delicious end result. You could add pancetta or bacon, which works nicely to enhance that sweet/salty balance. Chilli flakes would add another flavour dynamic. Herbs would also work nicely (notably sage), although I like to keep them out. Just to mimic more of a classic Alfredo.
g) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4 assuming 1/2 tbsp olive oil used.
Nutrition
Calories: 801kcal | Carbohydrates: 99.44g | Protein: 15.76g | Fat: 40.43g | Saturated Fat: 23.045g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.597g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11.722g | Trans Fat: 0.758g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 398mg | Potassium: 826mg | Fiber: 13.6g | Sugar: 4.07g | Vitamin A: 14752IU | Vitamin C: 27.9mg | Calcium: 276mg | Iron: 2.01mg