Pumpkin Pasta

A non-traditional approach to a pasta dish. Kids love the sweet taste of fall squash. This dish is savory and full of vitamins, including a high dose of vitamins A and C.

Ingredients:
1 ½ - 2 cups fresh pumpkin or fall squash, peeled, cleaned and cubed (or 3 bags of frozen butternut squash). If using pumpkin, use the flesh from the lid and the pieces cut out when carving a jack-o-lantern
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or sage (or both), chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup broth or water
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ lb. dry pasta
*1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (*optional)

Process:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
2. If you are peeling and cutting a whole butternut squash, pierce the entire squash with a fork. Place the squash directly on the rack in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes. You can then peel and cut the squash much easier than when it is raw. Cut pumpkin or squash into ½ inch (or smaller) cubes.
3. Add pasta when the water is rapidly boiling.
4. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan over medium heat, add your garlic, olive oil and ½ of the herbs and cook garlic for a few minutes. Do not brown.
5. Add squash and sauté until it starts to get soft. If it starts to stick to the pan, add a few tablespoons of water or broth to loosen.
6. Cook pasta until al dente (it should have a bit of a chew to it). Drain and reserve one cup of the pasta water. Add pasta to the sauté pan and moisten with the pasta water.
7. Add the remaining herbs and ½ of the cheese. Serve the remaining cheese on top of the pasta with fresh cracked pepper. Finish with toasted pumpkin seeds