Lemon and Sage Pumpkin-Pasta-Casserole

We harvested our very first pumpkin of this season. YEAH! The boys tend to make a bit of an event out of every 'first harvest of the season' no matter what fruit or veg. And I can only agree with all the other parents that, if you grow your own vegetables and fruit you can get the kids to eat it much easier, esp if you include them in looking after the plants and let them help harvest. You don't even need a garden to grow your own, a lot of things can be grown in pots. This pumpkin came out of a pot! And if you also include your kids in the process of cooking or preparing your produce they usually dig in when dinner time comes.

We first had the idea to make the traditional pumpkin soup to celebrate this event of our first pumpkin of the season. But I had no coconut milk.  So I had to come up with something different. Of course next came the cry for pasta from the boys. Is that the typical answer you get, too, when you ask your kids what it should be for dinner?

I suddenly had the idea to combine the pumpkin with lemon. This dinner got a bit experimental but we all liked the outcome so much, that I decided to write down the recipe just so I can actually remember if I want to make this pumpkin pasta dish again.


Here is the recipe for the Lemon and Sage Pumpkin-Pasta-Casserole:
Boil 350 grams of Fusilli shaped pasta according to the package
Peal and dice 1 small pumpkin (~300 grams) and fry together with one chopped onion in a little oil in a casserole or high pan, that you can later put safely into the oven. Add 1 chopped carrot and 1/2 a leek both chopped thinly. Keep stirring at medium heat and add some salt and pepper, cayenne pepper and fresh ground nutmeg, ground ginger.

Now add the zest of half an organic lemon, 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 2/3 cup of freshly chopped lemon balm and 4-6 big leaves of fresh sage chopped small.
Add 3 cups of the pasta water and 3/4 cup of cream 150 grams small chopped Emmental cheese  and 150 grams of mozzarella cut in dices.

Mix well, and bake for
15 mins at 200C/390F in a preheated oven.

Enjoy this Lemon and Sage Pumpkin-Pasta-Casserole!