Bright, simple, and comforting, this Neapolitan pasta with pumpkin is a perfect example of cooking, easy recipes that feel like home. The cook shows how humble ingredients—pumpkin or butternut squash, a few cherry tomatoes, garlic, parsley, and tiny pasta—come together into a dish that is satisfying any time of year.
Why this dish works
This recipe is all about letting simple flavors shine. Using water instead of stock keeps the pumpkin, tomato, and extra virgin olive oil tasting pure and bright. The texture comes from small pasta shapes—pasta mista or ditalini—so every spoonful is a cozy mix of tender squash and little pasta bits. The cook calls it a childhood staple, and it is easy to see why.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil – a drizzle for cooking and finishing
- 1 clove garlic – lightly smashed or sliced
- Handful of cherry tomatoes – halved (or a diced aromatic tomato)
- A few sprigs of parsley – chopped
- 1.5 lb cubed sugar pumpkin (or butternut squash) – peeled and diced
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 lb pasta mista or ditalini (ensure shapes have similar cooking times)
- Salt and pepper to taste, plus plenty of freshly cracked black pepper for serving
- Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano for finishing
Step-by-step method
- Heat a small Dutch oven over medium heat and add extra virgin olive oil. Add garlic and sauté briefly until fragrant.
- Add cherry tomatoes and parsley. Sauté for a couple of minutes so the tomatoes begin to soften.
- If using frozen diced pumpkin, let it defrost briefly and then add it to the pot. Stir to combine with the garlic and tomatoes.
- Pour in the water. Resist the urge to use stock. The water lets the pumpkin and tomatoes shine without competing flavors.
- Lower heat and simmer gently until the pumpkin is super tender and starting to break down, flavoring the liquid. This creates a light, vegetable-forward broth.
- Add the pasta mista or ditalini directly to the pot. Cook until the pasta is tender and has absorbed some of the pumpkin-flavored liquid. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve each bowl with a healthy dusting of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, lots of freshly cracked black pepper, and a final drizzle of strong extra virgin olive oil.
Quick tips
- Substitute butternut squash when sugar pumpkin is not available. The cook mentions that butternut works 99 percent of the time and yields essentially the same result.
- If pumpkins are on sale, peel, dice, and freeze them in portions. Frozen pumpkin performs well when partially thawed before cooking.
- Match pasta shapes by cooking time. Pasta mista is a charming mix of small shapes, but using one uniform small pasta like ditalini is perfectly fine.
- Use water, not stock. This keeps the pumpkin, tomato, and oil as the stars of the bowl.
"It is such a childhood staple."
Serving and storage
Serve warm with extra grated Parmigiano and a generous amount of cracked black pepper. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water to loosen the sauce if needed.
Make it your own
This joyful example of cooking, easy recipes is endlessly adaptable. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat, a sprinkle of toasted breadcrumbs for texture, or a handful of wilted greens stirred in near the end for extra color and nutrients. The simplicity is the beauty: good oil, sweet squash, bright tomato, and tiny pasta.
This article was created from the video Pasta e Cucozz - Easy and an Italian Classic! with the help of AI.
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