Cheesy Baked Pumpkin Pasta With Kale Recipes

CHEESY BAKED PUMPKIN PASTA WITH KALE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees and butter a shallow 2-quart/9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Cook the pasta in the boiling water for 4 minutes, adding the kale for the last minute. Drain the pasta and kale, rinse under cold water, then transfer to a large bowl along with the red-pepper flakes and the chopped herbs.
• In a blender, add the pumpkin, garlic, salt, pepper, cream and vegetable broth. Blend until smooth. (If you don't want to use a blender, add the pumpkin, salt and pepper to a large bowl and use a spoon to break it up into a smooth mixture. Slowly whisk in the cream and vegetable broth until mixture is smooth, then grate in the garlic.) Add the sauce to the bowl with the pasta. Add in most of the grated cheese, reserving about 1/2 cup, and stir to coat.
• Transfer the pasta into the baking dish, then dollop the ricotta over top and sprinkle remaining grated cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until brown and bubbly. If you want the pasta really browned, broil it for 3 to 5 minutes, watching carefully. Allow the dish to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and garnish with additional chopped herbs before serving.

CHEESY BAKED PUMPKIN PASTA WITH KALE AND BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Lay the bacon slices in a deep 12-inch skillet, such as cast iron. Put in the oven to bake until crispy and brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven. Drain bacon on a paper town and chop. Drain grease from the skillet (don't clean, since you will use the skillet again).
• Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on the stove and add enough salt so it tastes like the sea. Bring to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. When the pasta is just nearly cooked, add the kale to the pot and cook until the pasta is done. Drain well. Return to the pasta cooking pot.
• While the pasta cooks, put the pumpkin, milk, cottage cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg into a blender and run until smooth with no bits of cottage cheese remaining. Pour into the pot with the cooked pasta and kale. Add 2 1/2 cups of the cheese and the bacon and stir well to blend. The heat of the pasta with melt everything together. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
• Transfer the pasta to the 12-inch skillet. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake until the top is nicely browned, 30 minutes.