Oct 17

Oct 17 Creamy 'nduja and pumpkin pasta

I figured you needed some more inspiration on what to do with the vegan ‘nduja recipe from my third cookbook that has just launched! So if you already have a copy, this one is for you! If you haven’t grab yours here.

‘Nduja is a traditional, very spicy, salami paste from Calabria (South Italy). In this region they use A LOT of chillies, or “peperoncinos” as we like to say in Italian. They used, and still do, chillies like a preservative, since back in the day, there weren’t any refrigerators to keep food fresh so adding a sh*t ton of chilli was the way to go. Since then it is part of the Calabrian cuisine, where literally (almost) anything is spicy.

Since it’s autumn and pumpkins are back in season I decided to make a creamy pumpkin sauce featuring ‘nduja. The sweetness and creaminess of the pumpkin pairs very well with the pungent, hot paste which makes for the most amazing pasta sauce you can make when it’s chilly outside.

The key here is to make your own pumpkin puree by roasting it in cubes with shallots until tender and slightly caramalised. Alternatively you could use canned pumpkin puree but I highly suggest making your own.

For the ‘nduja part, you can add as much of it as you like. I only added 3 tablespoons which is already plenty.

To make this sauce creamy I add a little splash of soy cream, you can use any cream you like as long as it’s not sweetened.

Recipe

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

1 batch of nduja from my latest cookbook “Veganissima”
350-400 gr of small shell pasta or any other short pasta shape of choice
Half a pumpkin, deseeded and cubed my favorite variety is “Hokkaido”
2-3 medium shallots, peeled and 2 roughly chopped, the other minced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
a sprig of fresh sage, approx. 5-7 leaves
olive oil
60-100ml of soy cream, unsweetened
grated vegan gondino parmesan , to taste
salt and pepper to taste

How to

Start by preheating you oven to 180°C.
Place the cubed pumpkin and roughly chopped shallots on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until tender.
Leave to cool for a little then place in a blender with a splash of water to mix into a smooth puree. Set aside.
Place a large pot with salted water on the stove for the pasta. Once it boils cook the pasta al dente, save some of the pasta water for the sauce later on. (step 10)
Meanwhile make the sauce by heating up some olive oil in a pan, add the minced garlic and shallot. Fry for a minute or two, then add the sage.
Fry for another minute or so until fragrant and the garlic and shallot is transluscent.
Add a few tablespoons of the ‘nduja paste, add more or less depending on how spicy you want the sauce. I added 3 tablespoons.
Fry for another 2 minutes then add the pumpkin puree.
Add the cream and a few ladles of pasta water.
Stir to combine and leave it to heat through before adding the pasta.
Add the cooked pasta and toss to evenly coat each pasta.
Stir in some grated vegan parmesan, season accordingly with salt and pepper.
Serve with some fresh sage on top.
Buon appetito!