Smokey Pumpkin Sage Pasta Sauce

Wow, it's almost the end of the first week of October and this is the first pumpkin recipe I've shared with you this season. That's quite a lot of restraint on my part because I love pumpkin and my kitchen has been stocked with them since I saw the first one in the market.

Not that I need much encouragement to make pumpkin everything this time of year but this sauce was inspired by a seasonal catalog. I was flipping through one of the stunning housewares catalogs that come in the mail in autumn and make me want to buy all the things. This one was selling jars of savory pumpkin sauce; beautiful jars with beautiful labels and very non-beautiful prices. They want how much?! Pfft, I know how to make pumpkin sauce.

Since I was making my own sauce, I figured I'd customize the flavor a bit. I love smokey seasonings like cumin and smoked paprika with inherently sweet vegetables like pumpkin and butternut. So I gave my sauce a good bit of smoke and just a pinch of heat for a boost of flavor. Feel free to kick up the heat level to your liking. Then pour it on top of your favorite pasta or rice or vegetables because it's GOOD! Enjoy.

Yield: 8 Servings

Author: Anita Schecter

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Smokey Pumpkin Sage Pasta Sauce

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 35 Min

Recipe for a creamy sauce flavored with pumpkin puree, sage and smoked paprika.

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 Onion, peeled and diced
• 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
• 4 Cups milk
• 1 Cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 1 Teaspoon smoked paprika (cumin also works well)
• 1/2 Teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste

Instructions

1. Add the butter and onion to a saucier pan (high sided skillet pan) and cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent.
2. Whisk in the flour until a thick paste forms and slowly whisk in the milk, stirring constantly until all lumps are gone. Continue stirring on the heat for a couple of minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.
3. Whisk in the pumpkin and sage and continue cooking, on low heat, until the mixture thickens. Season with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Allow to cool and then pour into a lidded container. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.

Created using The Recipes Generator

If you're looking for a good saucier pan, this is the one I use at home.