Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Roasted Pumpkin Pasta


We have been eating a lot of vegetarian meals lately, Little Foodie prefers to eat meat (all the time) but has been pretty happy with the meat free dishes. This was a very filling meal and I served it with a side salad. I adapted it from a recipe created by Rachel Ray; if you don't want to make your own pesto you can use store bought. Enjoy :)
  • 1 cup flat leaf parsley tops, packed
  • 1 cup baby spinach or farm bundled spinach leaves, packed
  • 1 inch ginger root, grated or minced
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 2 cloves garlic, grated or mashed into past with salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest plus juice of 1/2 lemon, about 2 tablespoons
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 medium sugar pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 3/4 inch pieces ( you can find pre-cubed squash at Trader Joes)
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • Freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 pound whole wheat penne or semolina penne rigate
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
Preheat oven to 400˚F.

Place parsley, spinach, ginger, garlic, nuts, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper in food processor and turn processor on. Stream about 1/3 cup EVOO into processor to form a pesto sauce.

Drizzle the pumpkin cubes with 2 tablespoons EVOO and season with salt, pepper, paprika and nutmeg. Roast 15 minutes, turn the cubes over and roast 15 minutes more.

Meanwhile, bring water to boil for pasta, salt it and cook to al dente, according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy water just before draining. Drain pasta, return to hot pot, add reserved water and pesto, and toss to coat. Gently mix in the roasted pumpkin cubes and serve topped with lots of cheese and some pumpkin seeds.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

I LOVE pumpkin and once October comes around I try to find as many pumpkin recipes as I can!! I had the yummiest pumpkin soup at the cafeteria at school last week so I needed to find a similar recipe to make at home. I also have an addiction to soup, it is easy to make and it is a one pot meal; I serve it with bread fresh from the oven!! I adapted this recipe from one created by Rachel Ray. Enjoy!

  • 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cups canned or packaged vegetable stock, found on soup aisle
  • 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained
  • 2 cans (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (found often on the baking aisle)
  • 1 cup heavy cream ( I used low fat milk instead)
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 palm full
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 palm full
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, eyeball it in the palm of your hand
  • Coarse salt
  • 20 blades fresh chives, chopped or snipped, for garnish
Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Saute onions 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt, to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, adjust seasonings and serve garnished with chopped chives.