‘Tis the season to eat … and drink, and smell, and even wear … pumpkin. I, for one, am all in favor of this 24/7 approach to the consumption of pumpkin. I know some people think it is boring and basic, but I’m a firm believer that boring and basic are fine as long as they are delicious. Pumpkin is most definitely delicious, so here we are.

I’d be the first to admit that most of my favorite pumpkin eats are sweet – pumpkin cake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie (naturally), and of course the myriad of pumpkin beverages on offer at every restaurant, grocery store and gas station nationwide. Yum! But pumpkin is so much more than just dessert. Given that pumpkin is, in fact, a vegetable, it works in savory dishes just as well as sweet ones, and can carry a meal on its own power.

I can concede that pumpkin does have one potential weakness: texture. Pumpkin can be tricky in this department. I’m a big fan of pumpkin soup, and I have a recipe I love. I rarely serve said soup, however, based on the reception it received at the dinner table many years ago. My normally adventurous-eating children shed actual tears over the idea that I would ask them to consume a substance they described as “slippery,” “slimy” and “weird.” I loved it, which was good since all the leftovers were available for my enjoyment. I quickly observed that the best way to handle weirdly textured ingredients is to combine them with textures that are more palatable. In most cases, I find that sugar and white flour fit the bill. Here, I’m sharing something heartier. The pumpkin is folded into a velvety sauce and married with a healthy dose of pasta. So, instead of weird and slippery, the final product is warm and silky.

At the heart of it, this dish is a buttery, cheesy, rich pasta. I could (and have) simply omit the pumpkin and come up with a decent dish akin to pasta with Alfredo sauce. This dish will help you level up your pasta game both by adding subtle pumpkin flavor and by lightening up the weight of the cheese and olive oil. The complementary flavor of the added sausage makes for a dinner that can only be described as deliciously autumnal.

Serving pumpkin in a savory dish feels simultaneously sophisticated and familiar. This pasta should please everyone at the table. While it’s unlikely that Starbucks will add this dish to its menu, if you’re a pumpkin lover, you most certainly should.

Autumn Pumpkin Pasta

• 1 pound dry spaghetti, cooked according to package directions and drained
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 5 chicken and apple sausages (such as Aidells), halved lengthwise and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• Chopped parsley for garnish

Cook the onion in the olive oil in a large frying pan until the onion begins to soften. Add the sausage and cook until the sausage is warmed through and browned. Add the pumpkin and broth and cook until well combined and bubbly. Turn off the heat and add the cream, cheese and nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add the pasta and stir until well combined. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese.

Article and photo by Lisa Crockett