Savory Pumpkin Pasta with Bacon

Long before pumpkin everything was popular, long before you could buy pumpkin ravioli in the grocery store, I had a squadron commander's wife who LOVED to host our October spouses' coffee and LOVED to serve everything pumpkin to mark the occasion. Never before had any of us eaten pumpkin muffins, let alone pumpkin pasta - this was bizarre fare! And yet, it was delicious fare... I asked for her recipe for the pumpkin pasta, which was a Martha Stewart concoction involving cutting up and roasting pie pumpkins - well worth the work, if you have no other option, but a few years later I found a recipe for creamy pumpkin pasta using canned pumpkin puree - much more my style on most days. Combining the best of both recipes, I came up with the following, and it's been a fall favorite ever since.

Savory Pumpkin Pasta

Serves 4

• 1 lb. pasta (penne, farfalle, rigatoni, or campanelle are my favorites for this)

• 8 slices bacon, coarsely chopped

• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced

• 1 ½ c. chicken stock

• 1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin puree

• ¼ tsp. allspice

• 1/8 tsp. dried thyme or 4 sprigs fresh thyme

• pinch dried sage

• ½ c. heavy cream

• kosher salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain pasta and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan and set aside.

3. Add sliced onion to the bacon drippings in the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until sweet and golden-brown. Turn down the heat to low, discard excess bacon grease, and add to the pan with the onions: chicken stock, pumpkin puree, and herbs and spices. Stir until sauce is heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in heavy cream. Add pasta to the sauce, and toss to coat.

4. Serve pasta topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and bacon pieces.

Happy fall, y'all!

-Susanna