I found this gorgeous little butternut squash (750 grams) in my greengrocer’s the other day and apart from the fact that it was lovely to look at, I thought it would make a perfect one-portion container. So yesterday I decided to bake orecchiette in it. I split it in half, took out the seeds and soft, fibrey bits….
….and realised it wasn’t going to be easy to to get the pumpkin flesh out without ruining the shell. And it wasn’t!
So after 10 minutes hacking away with a spoon and sharp knife I managed to excavate the shell and then had another moment of illumination. I should have baked the halved pumpkin before removing the flesh! At this point I seasoned the excavated shells with a little oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper and baked them in the oven at 200° C for about 35/40 minutes….. my version of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted 🙂 However the result was delicious.
It needs to get nice and soft before you bake the pasta in it so that when you’ve eaten the pasta you can easily scoop out the the layer of pumpkin still attached to the shell.
- 180 grams orecchiette (I used De Cecco n. 91)
- About 300 grams of pumpkin….the amount that you manage to retrieve from a 750 gram butternut squash
- 50 grams guanciale or pancetta cubed
- 60 grams mozzarella or scamorza
- 50 ml white wine
- 1 clove garlic
- sprig rosemary
- generous handful grated grana or parmesan or rodez
- 50 ml fresh cream
- extra virgin olive oil
Fry the guanciale/pancetta with the garlic and a sprig of rosemary
Add the chopped pumpkin to the pan and cook till soft
Halve the garlic clove and fry it gently in some extra virgin olive oil with the rosemary and guanciale or pancetta. When the guanciale pieces begin to get transparent and a bit crispy add in the chopped pumpkin and fry for a few minutes, then higher the flame, pour in the white wine and allow to evaporate. Lower the heat and cook, covered, until the pumpkin is soft…about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. In the meantime cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet…you should strain it about a minute before the recommended time.
Put the pasta into a bowl and add the grated cheese, chopped mozzarella and fresh cream and stir. Remove the rosemary from the pan and mash the pumpkin and the garlic clove roughly with a fork, then add this mixture to the pasta and adjust seasoning.
Spoon the pasta carefully into the cooked pumpkin shells, sprinkle with more grated cheese. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes until it takes on a nice golden colour and the edges of the pasta begin to crisp. Buon appetito 🙂
Soon the pasta carefully into the cooked pumpkin shells
Bake until the edges of the pasta begin to crisp
Cook with Ellen in Puglia 
Mi piacerebbe molto assaggiarle!
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