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Pumpkin Tomato Pasta Sauce

Learn how to up the flavor of your spaghetti sauce with fresh pumpkin
Course Pasta
Cuisine American
Keyword pumpkin, spaghetti
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 4 cups tomato sauce homemade if you can
  • 1 cup fresh pumpkin puree
  • 1 lb ground beef and/or pork optional if you want meat
  • kosher salt to taste
  • dried herbs to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

How to roast a pumpkin

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
  • If you can first remove the step of the pumpkin. Then cut it into quarters.
  • Season the flesh with kosher salt to taste.
  • Place your pumpkin on a sheet pan with the flesh side down.
  • Roast for 30-40 minutes or until you can pierce through the skin with a fork (just like with a potato)

Making the sauce

  • Combine 4 cups of tomato sauce with 1 cup of pumpkin puree into a pan.
  • Bring to a boil, remove from the heat.
  • Season with salt, pepper, and dried herbs to taste.
  • Serve with your favorite spaghetti or other pasta.
  • Add cooked ground meat if you want.

Notes

Keep the Ratio

You can increase or decrease the amount of sauce this recipe makes by keeping the 4:1 ratio - 4 parts tomato sauce to 1 part pumpkin

Make Your Own Tomato Sauce

If you are going to make this recipe with homemade tomato sauce here is how I do it:
  • Cut the tomatoes in half
  • Place in a stock pot with a little bit of water, so they don't burn on the bottom
  • Put over medium heat, reduce to a gentle boil
  • Stir every so often
  • When it appeared to be thicken, removed from the heat
  • Blended it smooth with an immersion blender
  • Season to taste

Adding Ground Meat

If you want meat in your sauce I recommend about 1 pound of ground beef, pork, turkey or sausage for each 4 cups of tomato sauce you use in the recipe.
Brown the meat in a frying pan with a little bit of oil until cooked through. Then add to the sauce when it's all put together and warm.