Expand your menu with these gourmet pumpkin black spaghetti. It’s an incredibly chic dish yet really easy to prepare. Black spaghetti paired with pumpkin make an elegant meal, which can be at your table in less than 20 minutes. It’s not only packed with flavours but it’s also a real eye-catcher.
What would you say is the most popular dish in Italy? Pasta, of course. Let’s not discuss the types and forms now or else I could never stop. Wink. However, not everyone knows the black pasta, which is actually squid ink pasta.
Moreover, “spaghetti al nero di seppia” (squid ink spaghetti) is a speciality of Venice. In fact, I haven’t left Venice without trying them first. Wink. The squid ink is mixed already into the pasta dough. As a result, it enriches the pasta with the sea odour and a mildly fishy taste. It gives to the pasta a faint hint of salty flavour, too. Yummy.
Black spaghetti are an absolute eye-catcher
Most of the times, the black spaghetti are paired with seafood, mostly with shrimps. And it’s delicious! However, I took the opposite way and I picked an earthy flavour. Black spaghetti are very dramatic, yet an absolute eye-catcher when on a white plate. Therefore, I decided on the pumpkin as an add-on.
I simply love this combination. The colour contrast between black and vibrant orange is gorgeous! Of course, you can pair the black spaghetti with plenty of other ingredients, too. For example, you can use green peas, asparagus, carrots, red chilli, grilled cherry tomatoes etc.
To sum up, gourmet pumpkin black spaghetti is a great and elegant meal, with incredible colours and flavours. It’s easy and quick to prepare. Also, you’ll make a great impression when serving it to your family and friends.
Anyhow, if you fancy more pasta recipes (let’s admit it, there’s never enough pasta) check these pasta recipes; the gorgeous lingua della suocera, the lovely tagliatelle with mortadella ragù, colourful pasta leaves with pumpkin sauce, simple tagliatelle with zucchini ragù, a different pasta omelette, a quick tagliatelle with white asparagus and green peas , a classic baked pumpkin mac and cheese and packed with flavour spaghetti with bacon and brussels sprouts.
Ingredients for 2 portions of gourmet pumpkin black spaghetti:
- 250 g black spaghetti
- olive oil
- 150-160 g Hokkaido pumpkin (diced)
- 1-2 dry tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 mandarine (juice)
- 1 Tbsp mascarpone
- salt
- 1 tsp butter
- fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
- a couple of walnuts as a topping (optional)
Start with cutting one-third of the pumpkin (which would be around 150-160 g), scoop out the seeds and strings, then wash it and cut into smaller, about 1 cm, large pieces. Also, chop the garlic and one dry tomato.
At this point, prepare a pot for the pasta and a non-sticking pan for the pumpkin ragù. Furthermore, fill the pot halfway with water, add a couple of pinches of salt and bring to boil. At the same time, drizzle some olive oil in the pan, where you’re going to prepare the pumpkin.
Once the oil gets hot, add the pumpkin, garlic and dry tomato. Cook until the pumpkin gets tender. When the water starts boiling, add the black spaghetti. Cook for about 9 minutes or until “al dente”.
Why adding pasta water to the sauce
In order to add even more flavour to the pumpkin ragù, squeeze in the mandarine juice and add a ladle or two of pasta water to the pan. The pasta water will help thicken the ragù, too. After the pasta is cooked, drain it and add a piece of butter to it. As a result, your pasta won’t stick together and it will have a lovely flavour.
Last, add a spoon of mascarpone to the pumpkin ragù, season and stir. Now, you can add the pasta into the ragù or first plate the black spaghetti and then top them with the pumpkin ragù. The latter was my choice, in fact.
So, fill the plates with black spaghetti, top with creamy and vibrant pumpkin ragù and sprinkle with some fresh, aromatic cilantro if you like. In addition, for an extra crunch, I added a couple of walnuts. Serve the gourmet pumpkin black spaghetti all year round either for lunch or dinner. Also, I find it so beautiful and elegant, that I could serve it on Christmas or New Year’s Eve, too. Wink.
Enjoy!
PS
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
