Bacon + Pumpkin? Who knew!

Who doesn’t love bacon?  Who doesn’t love pumpkin?  These are two of our favorite flavors.  But how often have you tried them together?  This recipe is as fall as a pasta dish can get!  We dare you to try it!  It is rich and hearty, leaving you wanting to cozy up next to a fire on a cool fall night.

Pumpkin and Bacon Pasta

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups Roasted Pumpkin Cubes
10 Slices Broadbent Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, crispy and crumbled
1 lbs. Linguini, cooked according to package or your preferred pasta)
2/3 Cup Ricotta Cheese
2/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese
6 Garlic large cloves, minced
10 to 12 Fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 Cup Olive Oil (more if desired)
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 Cup Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Prepare your pumpkin:

Preheat oven to 425.

Take 1 sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkin, cut it into quarters, and discard all seeds and pulp. With a sharp knife, cut away the outside skin. Then cut into ½ inch cubes.  Place cubes into a large bowl and toss with EVOO and sea salt.  Place cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet pan.

TIP:  Be sure not to crowd the pumpkin cubes on the baking sheet pan, otherwise they will steam instead of roast.

TIP:  For easy clean up, line the pan with foil.

Bake for 35-45 minutes at 425 degrees or until tender.  Be sure to toss/stir the pumpkin cubes a couple times throughout the roasting process.

Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Prepare your pasta:

Prepare your chosen pasta according to the package until al dente. Drain cooked pasta into a colander and set aside.

Meanwhile add the garlic and olive oil to a large skillet. Cook over medium for 2-3 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta and toss. Add more olive oil if too dry. Heat through for two minutes over medium heat. Toss in that crispy crumbled Broadbent Smoke Applewood bacon, sage and parsley, and season with sea salt and pepper. Taste.  If desired, add more sage, parsley, sea salt and pepper.

Add to a large bowl to toss with the ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the pepitas on top and additional parmesan.

Serve and enjoy!

Broadbent B&B Foods
manager@broadbenthams.com

Broadbent B & B Foods, have been producing Old Fashioned Country Hams since 1909. A Truly American Food that has been on this continent since colonial days, it was a staple that sustained many of our first settlers as they moved west. The climate had to be just right to cure hams in the days before electricity, and Kentucky's climate fit the bill! Therefore, the Broadbent family brought those traditions with them and used them to dry cure and preserve their pork. Today, we are still dry curing Country Ham, Bacon, and Sausage like our forefathers did. In modern cuisine, country ham is far from a Staple. It is found on the menus of ritzy restaurants across The United States. While it is still, in fact, Country Ham, it is often cut paper thin, and labelled as Prosciutto; which is used as the center piece for many Charcuterie Boards.