Miso Pumpkin Pasta

with crispy sage and toasted hazelnuts. A comforting bowl of pasta with a rich roasted pumpkin and miso pasta. It is sweet, savoury and has wonderful umami from the miso.

THIS INSPIRATION

Last November I had one of the best vegan pastas in a restaurant in Portugal. It was a simple dish, but with complex flavours. A bowl of homemade pasta with a deep orange coloured sauce made with sweet miso and roasted pumpkin. It was sweet, savoury and rich. It was a cold evening and just the perfect setting. We paired it with a delicious local wine that had a hint of saltines from the ocean which brought out the umami-ness in the sauce even more. Not sure that is even a word, but it should be.

THE SAUCE

The main ingredients are pumpkin and miso paste and is a wonderful combination of sweet and savoury.

It's blended until smooth and thick. And let's be honest the colour of the sauce is gorgeous.

THE PUMPKIN

I have made this today with a golden butternut which in my opinion has more flavour than the standard butternut. You can however use the standard butternut or any pumpkin of choice. Roasting the pumpkin brings out it's natural sweetness and intensifies the flavour. I definitely recommend roasting the pumpkin instead of steaming or cooking it.

Adding water or steam to the butternut will make it loose flavour, whereas roasting them will remove liquid from the pumpkin which helps intensify the flavours.

Note! Depending on the type of pumpkin (and it's water content) you might have to adjust the almond milk amount.

MISO

I used a light miso paste in this recipe. You could try making it with the dark miso, but you might have to adjust the quantity as dark miso is more intense in flavour.

YOU WILL NEED

• A butternut or small pumpkin

• A light miso paste

• Garlic and onion granules

• Almond milk

• Fresh sage

• Hazelnuts

• Pasta of choice

• chilli flakes

• olive oil

• sea salt and crushed black pepper

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

• Replace garlic granules with roasted (from fresh) garlic

• Substitute the almond milk for soy or cashew milk or a cashew cream

• Substitute the hazelnuts with toasted walnuts

THE COLOUR

I just have to point out that whilst I was taking photos I noticed that my shoes actually match colour of the sauce. How cute is that??

OTHER PASTA RECIPES TO TRY

Vegan Rose Sauce Tagliatelle

Vegan Basil Pesto Pasta

Vegan Butternut Mac & Cheese

butternut, caper, rocket & tahini pasta

MISO PUMPKIN PASTA

with crispy sage and toasted hazelnuts.

Serves: 2 generous portions

Time: about 70 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium sized butternut

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 - 2 tbsp light miso paste, adjust to your liking

• 1/2 tsp garlic granules

• 1/2 tsp onion granules

• 1 cup almond milk, or more to taste

• sea salt and crushed black pepper, to season

• 200g dried Pasta of choice

• Toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

• about 12 fresh sage leaves

• chilli flakes (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 200C

2. Cut the butternut in half. Scoop out the seeds, drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt. Arrange on a baking tray and roast in the oven for an hour or until golden, soft and caramelised.

3. Scoop out the flesh of the butternut and transfer into a high-speed blender. Add the miso (start with 1 tbsp) , garlic and onion granules and 1 cup almond milk. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Add more almond milk as needed. The sauce should not be too thick.

4. In the meantime cook the pasta to your liking. Once cooked, drain and put aside.

5. Whilst the pasta is cooking heat a small pan with a bit of oil. Once hot add the sage leaves and fry them until they are crispy.

6. Pour the butternut sauce over the pasta and mix well.

7. Dish up and sprinkle with the toasted hazelnuts, a few chilli flakes, crispy sage leaves and black pepper.