Roast Pumpkin, Rosemary, Burnt Butter Fettuccine

This quick and simple pasta dish is packed full of flavour! Roasted pumpkin, rosemary, and garlic is thrown together with a nutty and aromatic burnt butter sauce. The rich butter silkily coats the fresh fettuccine, which feels so light and soft that you don’t realise you’ve eaten a whole plate of pasta until it’s all gone!!! Read ahead for the recipe (makes about 6 to 7 servings).

INGREDIENTS

For the pasta dough:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons cold water

• 4 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 1/2 cups of type 00 white flour

• Handful of fine semolina for dusting (or more flour)

For the pasta sauce:

• 1/2 a pumpkin (I used Jap), skin and seeds removed, and chopped into cubes

• 1 sprig Rosemary

• 1 garlic clove, finely diced

• 150 grams butter, cubed

• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Salt, to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the pasta dough:

• In a mixing bowl add flour, salt, eggs and olive oil. Mix with your hands until the dough comes together. If your dough seems too crumbly, or its not holding together well, add the cold water and/or another teaspoon of olive oil.

• Flour a chopping board and place dough on it. Knead the dough (for no more than 2 minutes) to form a ball. Flatten the dough so it is a disk about 12 cms thick and then tightly wrap in cling wrap. Set this aside for at least an hour and a half.

• Set up a pasta machine, preferably with a fettuccini/tagliatelle attachment.

• Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. One at a time (wrap up rest of dough while you work on one piece) roll it out with a rolling pin until 4 cms thick. Next work the dough through the pasta machine on the various thickness settings, until you have a long piece of pasta that you can just see the light through.

• Put the pasta sheet through the fettuccine attachment, and once cut dust thoroughly with semolina or flour to prevent it from drying out.

For the pasta sauce and assembly:

• Roast the small cubes of pumpkin in the oven with olive oil and a pinch of salt, until soft and lightly browned on the outside. (I put mine in for 30 minutes at 150 C fan forced or 170 C / 340 F)

• In a shallow dutch oven or large saucepan, add the butter and cook on a medium heat until the butter foams and then browns (but be careful not to burn!). Turn heat down to low, add the olive oil, black pepper, rosemary, garlic, roasted pumpkin, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently (so that the garlic doesn't brown too much).

• Next add the fresh pasta to the pot of boiling salted water. Stirring occasionally, cook until almost al dente -fresh pasta only needs 2 minutes in boiling water, and it will finish cooking completely in the sauce.

• After approximately 2 minutes, remove pasta from the water and using a slotted spoon add it to the large saucepan. Add 2 ladlefuls of the pasta water, and the parmesan. Stir until the parmesan is melted and sauce is creamy, glossy and emulsified.

• Serve pasta seasoned with more pepper, parmesan, and garnished with done more rosemary if you wish. Please enjoy!

Notes: If the pasta sauce looks too tight, add some more pasta water. If it is too thin you can add some more cheese or continue stirring for another minute (it will continue thickening as it cooks)