Roasted Vegetables And Pumpkin Pasta (Not Sweet)

Do you know what makes me cringe?

Savory dishes that turn out to be sweet.

Ugh… yuck.

Thinking about it makes my stomach churn 🙁

And trust me, I’ve had my fair share of those, especially when I’m testing out recipes that contain sweet ingredients, such as this one.

But rejoice!

This roasted vegetables and pumpkin pasta has just a tinge of natural sweetness from the roasted pumpkin; it is not overpowering at all. We have to thank the other (secret ;)) ingredients which help cut the sweetness of the pumpkin, making it an absolutely delectable savory dish.

Geez, it’s SO DAMN GOOD!

I’d totally pay for this outside.

I don’t like tooting my own horn but you know, I was raised to be honest 😉

So…what’s the secret?

Sheesh! What is my worth if I keep telling you ALL my secrets! >:(

Oh well, I guess it can’t be helped because everyone deserves a chance to taste this super delicious + savory roasted vegetables and pumpkin pasta! You guys better pay attention because I ain’t gonna repeat this :p

The secret savory ingredients in this recipe are…garlic and tomatoes.

Yep.

That’s it.

Generic grocery items. Psh. Boooooring.

But don’t you dare underestimate them!

Acid helps to cut the sweetness of the pumpkin, and garlic just generally reminds you that you’re not eating dessert. You can probably just use vinegar as the acid, but the roasted tomatoes work SO WELL in this dish.

I like my meals to be a bit more…complete (for lack of a better word), so I added some balsamic vinegar + olive oil roasted portobello mushrooms as well, to add a “meaty” element to this pasta dish and to make myself feel less guilty for eating so much carbs. Heh.

I also topped it off with and mixed in some fresh basil leaves, because why the hell not? Tomatoes and basil are best friends! But if you don’t have ’em, don’t sweat it.

As long as you got the roasted garlic + tomatoes combination, you’ve got this recipe down. You’re totally ready to kick some pumpkin pasta ass!

Plus it’s super creamy too, thanks to the coconut milk. But please don’t go too crazy with it, the coconut milk actually accentuates the sweetness. I just use a little bit to make the pumpkin sauce creamy 😉

Gosh, how do I stop all these secrets from spilling out?!

And have I mentioned that it’s super easy?

If you’re super lazy, just grab some canned pumpkin puree from the store and sit around while the oven roasts the tomatoes, garlic and mushrooms for you.

Boil the pasta, combine everything, and voila! Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Mmm. Looks so delish, doesn’t it? The colours are AMAZING too! I know I say this often (because my recipes are kickass? hehe) but you really gotta try this. Pumpkins are in season right now so they are cheap and everywhere AND THUS you have no excuse!

Go forth and impress everyone with this awesome, savory + creamy roasted vegetables and pumpkin pasta 😉

Vegan + Gluten Free Option

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Roasted Vegetables And Pumpkin Pasta

Course Main

Cuisine Western

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

Roasted Vegetables And Pumpkin Pasta

• 3 cups penne
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1/4 cup pasta water
• 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin puree see below or use canned puree
• 2 portobello mushrooms
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• some basil leaves optional
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Roasted Pumpkin Puree

• 1/2 pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Roasted Pumpkin Puree

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
2. Slice pumpkin into wedges, about 1/2" thick. Remove the seeds and save them - you can toast/roast them and eat it as a snack. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on the pumpkin wedges and lay them out flat on a baking tray.
3. Roast in oven for about 25 minutes, flipping halfway. A fork should go through the pumpkin easily when it is done. Remove from oven.
4. After the pumpkin has cooled, peel it and mash it with a potato masher or a fork. If you prefer a smoother consistency you can use a blender. 1/2 a Japanese pumpkin should yield you about 1 cup of pumpkin puree.

Roasted Vegetables And Pumpkin Pasta

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
2. Cut cherry tomatoes into halves and slice the portobello mushrooms. Crush 4 cloves of garlic and combine everything with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar. Season with some salt and pepper, and roast in oven for about 20 minutes.
3. While the vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta in boiling water according to package instructions. Reserve about 1/4 cup of pasta water when the pasta is done.
4. Combine 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons coconut milk and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl. Add up to 1/4 cup pasta water (a little bit at a time!) if the mixture is too paste-like (instead of sauce-like).
5. Tear the basil leaves into small pieces and mix it in with the drained pasta, pumpkin sauce, and roasted vegetables.
6. Garnish with basil leaves or pumpkin seeds if you prefer.

Recipe Notes

For gluten-free version, use gluten-free pasta, such as rice or quinoa pasta. I've heard fabulous things about quinoa pasta and I actually can't wait to try them!