Pasta With Pumpkin Sauce

I realise this dish doesn't look like much, but believe me-it tastes wonderful.

I clipped the recipe from the newspaper back in the early 90's and made it once. It seemed heavy and gloppy. It was only as I came across it again today (and just happened to have mashed pumpkin leftover from the cake yesterday) that I realised it really didn't need all that sour cream. In fact, it didn't need sour cream at all-and certainly didn't require being served over cheese ravioli! Look, I'm not one to count calories, and it's not like I'd refuse a good eclair-but some recipes are needlessly heavy.

I substituted plain yoghurt for the sour cream and cut the amount of butter in half. The result was completely different from the dish I had tried years ago. I rather liked it as the yoghurt didn't overwhelm the taste of the pumpkin. I also passed on the cheese-filled pasta and went for a plainer noodle.

If I were making this again (and I likely will) a bit of crystalised ginger crumbled on top with the cheese would make a nice addition, maybe some pepper. Otherwise, I think the dish is a nice, quick, simple dinner for a winter night. Save the extra fat for dessert instead.

You Will Need:

15 oz. pumpkin (about 1 tin, or 1 1/2 cups)

2 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

pasta of your choice

1/4 cup plain yoghurt (I used low-fat, but any will do)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Mix the pumpkin, broth, sugar, and spices in a pot and heat over medium heat about ten minutes or until the butter has melted and sauce is heated through. While you do this, make the pasta.

Remove sauce from heat and stir in the yoghurt. Pour over drained pasta and sprinkle with cheese.