(Spicy spaghetti with pumpkin sauce - Our original home cooking)

300 g (10 1/2 oz) pumpkin
4 anchovy fillets in oil
1 tablespoon capers in vinegar
1 400 g (14 oz) can cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried chives
1 teaspoon dried bay leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
240 g (8 1/2 oz) Italian spaghetti
Chilli pepper-flavoured oil, if you like

Time:
preparation: 20 minutes
cooking: 30 minutes
Difficulty:
easy recipe
Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):
Calories: 348 (kCal) 17 % GDA - 1457 (kJ)
Protein: 11.5 (g) 22 % GDA
Total fat: 8.8 (g) 11 % GDA
Total carbohydrate: 56.1 (g) 21 % GDA
Sugars: 8.3 (g) 9 % GDA

This is a spaghetti recipe you can make in autumn and winter when you find the pumpkin easily.

Prepare the pumpkin: peel off its thick skin and remove its large seeds. Wash and steam until soft.

Cook spaghetti in a large kettle of boiling salted water according to the package directions (or our instructions), until "al dente" stage.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Crush the pumpkin with a fork roughly. Put the olive oil, anchovies, capers, aromatic herbs, cherry tomatoes with their juice and pumpkin into a non-stick pan. Season to taste with salt and cook over a medium heat for some minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is well reduced.

Drain pasta very well and pour into the pan; stir with a wooden spoon and let it finish cooking with all the ingredients for 1-2 minutes. Once you have switched off the gas, you can add some drops of chilli pepper oil, if you like it.

Note

- In Italy we find the pumpkin in autumn and winter so Carlo and I freeze it to be able to use in the following months. We clean ad steam the pumpkin as we have just told you. We crush the pulp and divide it into the portions we always use. Cube containers are perfect for freezing. So when we have to use the pumpkin for pasta sauce or soups or minestrone we thaw the right quantity. Preserve the frozen pumpkin for 3 months.
- You can prepare pumpkin one or two days ahead. Clean and steam the pumpkin, cover and refrigerate.

Healthy eating

- This spaghetti dish is a perfect vegetarian (vegan) recipe if you don't use anchovies.
- This is a low calorie spaghetti recipe. In other words it's a light recipe. You can complete the meal with a chicken escalope (100 g - 3 1/2 oz), grilled and seasoned with a teaspoon of olive oil, raw seasonal vegetables and fresh fruit.
- If you want to drink a glass of wine remember you have to add 80-85 kCal per 100 ml.
- We remember you our original home recipes can be made without salt; there is a combination of flavours that substitutes salt. Other no salt recipes ...