Squid Ink Pasta With Pumpkin, Sage, and Brown Butter

1. Stage

Prepare and bake the pumpkin shells: Heat the oven to 350°F. Slice off the top quarter of each pumpkin and scoop out the insides. (Save the seeds to make toasted pumpkin seeds .) Using a strong metal spoon or a small sharp knife, scrape all the fibrous insides out of the pumpkins. Sprinkle the insides of the pumpkins with salt and sugar. Set the pumpkins on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until a fork easily pierces the flesh and the edges are lightly browned.

2. Stage

Start cooking the pasta: Prepare the pasta water while the pumpkins are cooking. Bring a large pot of well salted water (it should taste like the sea) to a boil. When the pumpkins have about 10 minutes to go before they're done, add the pasta to the boiling water. When the pumpkins are cooked remove them from the oven to a serving dish or plates.

3. Stage

Make the brown butter sauce with sage: While the pasta is cooking, prepare the brown butter sauce. Heat the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and cook until browned bits begin to form in the butter and there is a lovely nutty aroma. Remove any whole sage leaves you are using for garnish. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the brown butter into a large serving bowl (this will stop the butter from cooking further). Browned butter can easily turn to blackened butter, which is not the flavor you want for this recipe.

4. Stage

Stir in the pasta into the brown butter sauce, add vinegar, salt: When the pasta is ready (al dente, slightly firm, but cooked through), use tongs to remove the pasta from the pot to the large bowl with the brown butter. Allow some of the water from the pasta to drip into the bowl, it will help with the sauce. Toss the pasta with the brown butter. Splash a little cider vinegar over it. Taste for salt, it will likely need a bit more, especially if you've used unsalted butter. Add more if needed.

5. Stage

Serve: Serve the pasta in the baked pumpkin shells. Garnish with reserved whole sage leaves that you had cooked with the sliced sage in the butter. Links: Pumpkin Pasta with Squid Ink Sauce - from Salty Seattle Babbo's Black Pasta - from Just a Taste Black Pasta, Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Black Garlic Sauce - from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook Squid Ink Spaghetti with Shrimp and White Truffle Oil from Lemons and Anchovies Wikipedia on squid ink