Pumpkin, Sage, and Gorgonzola Spaghetti

Happy Halloween!

As previously established, I love pumpkin during the Fall. I'm incredibly original too. Just a few days after my post welcoming the autumn season with pumpkin cake balls, Bon Appetit posted an article called 10 Rules for Cooking with Pumpkin This Fall. While I agree on many counts, I must disagree on Pumpkin Spice Lattes. They are the one exception to my rule on never drinking coffee.

If you haven't heard, my parents went vegan! Yeah, my dad, the Italian carnivore, is vegan. Most of the time. Vegan is tough for dining out and since he is vegan for the purpose of saving his own life and not the lives of animals, he cuts himself some slack occasionally. They watched Forks Over Knives AND the extended interviews which I've had sitting in my Netflix queue for a few months. Lucky for them, I had purchased the cookbook inspired by it so after being horrified by what they learned in the documentary, they had something with which to start cooking Fat-Free Vegan meals. I'm not ready to give up dairy entirely yet even though I really shouldn't have it so while this recipe isn't vegan, it is vegetarian. It's also still in the works since I threw this one serving meal together for myself using leftovers. That's really the only kind of cooking I have time for these days between work and grad school.

Creamy, tangy, and woodsy. Those are the best words to describe this dish apart from delicious. It's savory Fall at its best. And it comes together in a flash with leftover ingredients! We had made a vegan pumpkin bread that didn't call for the entire can of pumpkin puree so I needed to find a recipe to use up what was left. Cue my at home version of Chopped.

Pumpkin, Sage, and Gorgonzola Sauce with Spaghetti

The Taming of the Roux Original Recipe

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 1 - 1 1/2 cup(s) cooked spaghetti
• 2 teaspoons olive oil or canola
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable stock, low-sodium
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1-2 tablespoons gorgonzola, crumbled 
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions  

1. Heat oil in a small-medium non-stick skillet over medium heat and add garlic and sage stirring constantly for about a minute. Careful, do not burn the garlic or the sage.
2. Add pumpkin puree and vegetable stock. Stir constantly until extra liquid cooks off and the puree is bubbling but still loose. Add salt and pepper.
3. Add heavy cream, stir constantly until well mixed, cook for a minute.
4. If your spaghetti is leftover and cold, heat in microwave for  30-60 seconds, (if not skip the microwave).
5. Add the gorgonzola crumbles. Don't add too much since you don't want to overpower the pumpkin and sage. Mix until just melted into sauce. Remove from heat.
6. Add spaghetti to the pan and give it a toss to coat.
7. Serve and enjoy the savory pumpkin goodness. :)

 Some Notes:

*I did not have fresh sage unfortunately. This would be even better with fresh herbs instead of dried. I would have garnished it with some pan-fried sage leaf crumbles. Yum!
**If you're not vegetarian and are looking for some meat in this dish, try pancetta for an Italian flare or applewood smoked bacon. Skip the oil step in the beginning and cook your pancetta or bacon first and then add ingredients to the pan. You may want to drain off a bit of the fat prior though to keep the cholesterol down if you do so.
***The ratios are guesstimates for the recipe. When I cook for myself, I'm usually making recipes up off the top of my head and do very little measuring. Use your best judgement - it's what makes cooking an adventure!