Pumpkin Pasta in Sage Brown Butter

Recently, I somewhere - I can't remember where - came across a recipe for pumpkin pasta in sage brown butter. When I saw it, I immediately thought: I need to try this! Unfortunately, an internet search and a foray into some of my old copies of Bon Appétit yielded no results. In the end, I made up this recipe based on my recollection.


Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• fresh sage
• shallot 
• 1 Tbs unsalted butter
• linguine
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• nutmeg

Cut the top off the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. (When I opened my pumpkin and found that it was partially rotted on the inside, I simply removed the yucky part.) Cube the flesh of the pumpkin and place the cubes in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes (or until tender). 

While the pumpkin is baking, finely chop a shallot (or 1 Tbs of onion if you don't have a shallot) and sautee it in the butter. Add several chopped leaves of fresh sage and a pinch of nutmeg about halfway through. 

Cook the linguine and, when finished, add a touch of olive oil and a scoop of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Add the pumpkin and drizzle the sage brown butter. Voila!

-Marie