Rotini pasta tossed in a creamy parmesan pumpkin pasta sauce– made with pumpkin puree, chicken stock, Greek yogurt and plenty of garlic, chili powder and a sprinkle of cayenne. 

 

How comforting does this creamy pumpkin pasta look? It was so easy to throw together after traveling this weekend. 

This past weekend, I was down in San Antonio for the Dairy Amazing Symposium, hosted by Dairy Max! It was a quick trip– I flew down on Friday and came back Saturday. Overall, it was a great conference. I met some really nice dietitians, and got to catch up with a few bloggers that I’d met before. I left feeling inspired about promoting dairy to my clients and about sustainability– I think I’m going to recap the sustainability lecture we had for the blog. It really made me think hard about food waste and what we can do about it.

I had some interested Uber/hotel experiences. On the way to the airport Friday my Uber driver stopped for gas DURING the ride and then proceeded to drive crazily in traffic, honking at other drivers and swerving in and out of the lanes. I made it to the airport on time though, and even found 5 bucks on the ground. So I bought myself coffee.

The hotel was very nice and I was so excited to crawl into the big comfy bed with a down comforter and squishy pillows. Starting at about 10pm, my hotel room neighbors started to party, played loud music, and argue really loud until 4am… I called the front desk twice but nothing was really done about it. So I only got about 3 hours of sleep Friday night. Several cups of coffee were needed to feel better Saturday morning, haha. 

On another note, daylight savings is not a friend of the blogger. I photograph my food photos every Sunday, and I try to photograph at least two recipes. I used to have until past 6pm– but now it’s dark by 5!  This means I have to be finished cooking and taking food photos by at least 4:30 , which isn’t the easiest when I sleep in or travel. So I apologize for the slightly grainy photos… I’m going to try to start getting up earlier on Sundays so I can take better pictures. Today’s recipe is a simple pasta: pumpkin puree whisked with chicken stock, garlic, thick & creamy Greek yogurt, and parmesan cheese. There’s a hint of heat with chili pepper and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. 

I actually used siggi’s plain Icelandic style yogurt (skyr) because it has 14g of protein per 5 ounces and only 9 grams of carbohydrate, with no additives, sweeteners or thickeners. It really worked great to thicken up this sauce and added a great tangy, creamy element. This recipe can also be ready in under 15 minutes– the sauce is done by the time the pasta is done cooking! I’m becoming more and more of a fan of the 15 minute meal. 

Here’s the recipe for Creamy Parmesan Pumpkin Pasta: 

Creamy Parmesan Pumpkin Pasta
Serves 4
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Ingredients
  1. 1 Tbsp olive oil
  2. 1 Tbsp butter
  3. 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  4. 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
  5. 2 cups unsalted chicken stock
  6. 1 tsp onion powder
  7. 1/2 tsp chili powder
  8. 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  9. freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
  10. 1 container of plain Greek yogurt (5.3oz)
  11. 1/3 cup grated parmesan
  12. 16oz rotini pasta
Instructions
  1. Boil the pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
  2. In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Saute the garlic for 1-2 minutes, then add the pumpkin and chicken stock.
  3. Add the onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth and let cook for a few minutes.
  4. Add the Greek yogurt and parmesan cheese and whisk until smooth.
  5. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce and serve with an additional sprinkle of parmesan.
Zen & Spice https://zenandspice.com/

8 Comments

  1. i hope you rated the uber driver accordingly…i am so pleased with siggi;s yogurt as well and this idea with pasta sounds fantastic.

    1. I did and the Uber managers heard an earful, haha.

  2. It looks lovely and creamy. i like the idea of yoghurt in a pasta sauce. It’s something i don’t think I’ve tried before.

    1. Plain yogurt is a great way to make sauces creamy without having to use actual cream!

  3. Ooooh my goodness. This looks AMAZING!! When we were in Italy we had pasta in a pumpkin sauce and I’ve been dying to try to make it. This sounds like the perfect one to try :)

    1. Let me know if you try it!!

  4. I love the moodiness of these photos. It makes me want to curl up with a good book, blanket, and big ‘ole bowl of this pasta!

  5. I love simple pasta dishes like this! Using siggi’s to make a creamy sauce is a great idea. I can completely relate about daylight savings and food photography- I miss that extra hour!

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