Pasta and Pumpkin Soup-Style Pasta (Pasta e Zucca)
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Pasta and Pumpkin Soup-Style Pasta (Neapolitan Pasta e Zucca)
A traditional Neapolitan comfort dish where pasta cooks together with creamy pumpkin until it becomes rich, velvety, and deeply flavorful. Simple ingredients, rustic texture, and a slightly spicy finish make this an authentic Southern Italian classic.
Ingredienti
- 300 g small tube pasta tubetti or ditalini
- 800 g yellow pumpkin peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic cloves
- 1 small hot chili pepper or chili flakes to taste
- Fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 spoon Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Water as needed
Istruzioni
- Heat a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a large pot or deep skillet.
- Add the garlic cloves and chili pepper. Sauté gently until the garlic becomes fragrant and lightly golden.
- Add the diced pumpkin and stir well to coat it with the flavored oil.
- Remove the garlic cloves.
- Add a few ladles of water, season with salt, cover with a lid, and cook over low heat until the pumpkin becomes very soft and creamy, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta separately in salted boiling water until halfway cooked.
- Transfer the half-cooked pasta to the pumpkin mixture together with a little of its cooking water.
- Continue cooking everything together, stirring frequently, until the pasta is fully cooked and the mixture becomes creamy and thick. Add more pasta water if needed.
- Just before serving, stir in plenty of finely chopped fresh parsley.
Note
The dish should be creamy, not dry.
* Traditional Neapolitan versions are often slightly overcooked on purpose to create a velvety texture.
* For extra flavor, you can add grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese before serving.
* Traditional Neapolitan versions are often slightly overcooked on purpose to create a velvety texture.
* For extra flavor, you can add grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese before serving.