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On a recent trip to Williams-Sonoma, I noticed a display of pasta related products including several jars of Pumpkin Parmesan Sauce. My initial reaction was: Ummmm… Yum!!! With every intention to create my own version of this sauce, I immediately headed to Whole Foods in search of pumpkins suitable for cooking. To my surprise, before I even entered Whole Foods, I was greeted by a gorgeous, autumnal-hued display of pumpkins and squash. I couldn’t help but smile at the wide array of varying shapes, colors and textures. My interest in using a mere pumpkin for this sauce quickly faded once I saw the selection in front of me. With a little help from the Whole Foods produce staff, I decided on the kabocha squash. Sweeter than a butternut squash, the kabocha has a creamy texture and an amazing yellow-orange color on the inside. If you can’t find a kabocha squash in your grocery store or farmer’s market, simply use a similar sized pumpkin or butternut squash. Continue reading for the recipe.
Pasta with Kabocha Parmesan Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 kabocha squash weighting about 3 pounds
- 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti (or other pasta)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup chopped shallot (about 1 large shallot)
- ½ cup packed freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- Low sodium chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, plus extra whole leaves for garnish
- 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, plus more to taste
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut the kabocha squash in half width wise (not through the stem). Scoop out and discard the seeds, strings, and all other nasty bits. Pour a thin layer of water (about ¼ cup) into a baking dish and place the squash halves cut side down in the water. Bake the squash until it is fork tender (an inserted fork goes in and out with ease, about 45 minutes). Once the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh from the skins and transfer to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Discard the skins.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add a good handful of kosher salt (about 2 tablespoons). Add the whole wheat spaghetti, reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered until pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally.*
- Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking. In a large frying pan, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté until soft (4 – 5 minutes). Stir in the kabocha squash puree and cook for an additional minute. Add the cream 1 tablespoon at a time. With each addition, slowly stir the cream into the squash mixture making sure it is completely incorporated before the next addition. Add the Parmesan cheese and nutmeg, stirring to incorporate. Stir in low sodium chicken stock until the consistency of the sauce is smooth and somewhat thin (we will be adding some pasta cooking water later, so don’t completely thin out the sauce).
- Once the spaghetti is ready, drain, but reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid in a separate bowl or measuring cup. Return the spaghetti to the pot it was cooked in.
- In small amounts, add some of the cooking liquid to the sauce until desired consistency is achieved. Remove the sauce from the heat and add parsley and lemon juice. Taste your sauce and season with salt, pepper and additional lemon juice if needed. Add several large spoonfuls of the sauce to the spaghetti, tossing until the spaghetti is evenly coated.
- Divide spaghetti between four dinner plates. Top each serving with a healthy spoonful of sauce, additional Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper. Garnish with whole parsley leaves.
Notes
I’m Brandon: food explorer, recipe curator, cocktail shaker, dessert lover. Kitchen Konfidence is how I document my time spent in my favorite space, the kitchen. Did you make a recipe? Tag @brandiego on Instagram so I can see the how it went!
BroccoliHut says
Such a creative use of kabocha! Can vegetable broth be substituted for the chicken broth to make it vegetarian?
Evan Thomas says
This sounds lovely! Never tried a kabocha squash. It’s definitely one I want to, though.
riceandwheat says
I love kabocha but never thought to use it in a pasta sauce before – brilliant!
eatgreek.net says
it looks delicious!
Becky says
I had never heard of this variety of squash before. I love butternut squash, so next year i ‘ll have to look for the Kabocha squash!
Karen says
Great use for kabocha! I diced and overcooked one the other day — it became a chunky puree and I froze it, but didn’t have any plans for it until now. Thanks!
Brandon Matzek says
@BroccoliHut Yes, you could use vegetable broth or water.
@Becky If you have trouble finding the Kabocha squash, you could certainly use any winter squash (butternut, pumpkin, acorn, etc.).
Carole in Queens says
Just found this recipe on an random internet search and look forward to using the Kabocha I bought at Whole Foods this weekend. Will look for your blog in the future as this sounds quite interesting. Thanks.
Henrique Mello says
Just delicious!
I made it using chicken filled cappelleti, and it was amazing!
Greetings from Brazil!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
Millie says
I’m obsessed with kabocha but can never find it in London!
Whenever I go to Japan, I eat so much! I can’t help it – they’re so sweet and creamy! I think I have to search for one and make this because it sounds wonderful 🙂
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks again Millie. You could also use butternut squash or pumpkin if you can’t find a kabocha. Any squash really.
Mary @ Fit and Fed says
Nice! I finally cooked up the great big kabocha I had on the counter and made pasta sauce with part of it tonight. I hadn’t realized until this fall that kabochas can be either orange or green. Last year I had a green one like your photo, the one I picked up this time was orange!