Pappardelle with pumpkin and radicchio sauce

The pumpkin season cheers up our winter dishes. With its bright colour and its delicate taste, pumpkin could enhance our soups, pasta, risotto, tarts, salads, side dishes and puddings. What a versatile  ingredient!

Today we pair the sweetness of the bright pumpkin with the bitterness of the purple radicchio. Both ingredients belong to the traditional Italian cuisine of the North, but we combine them in a new way: we add red onion and raisin to intensify the mild taste of pumpkin and soften the crunchiness of radicchio. Fresh thyme is the perfect seasoning.

Pappardelle with pumpkin and radicchio sauce

250 g egg pappardelle

100 g pumpkin, skinned

25 g raisin

2 large red onions, finely sliced

500 g radicchio

A sprig of fresh thyme

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan to serve

Serves 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Slice the pumpkin and arrange it on an oven tray. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 15 minutes, until tender. Peel and dice it.
3. In a bowl, soak the raisin in tepid water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
4. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté the onions on low heat with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes, until translucent.
5. Finely chop the radicchio and add to the onions. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add the pumpkin and the thyme to radicchio and onion mixture and keep warm.
7. In a pan, bring plenty of water to the boil. Add salt and cook pappardelle as directed (from 5 to 7 minutes). Reserve 1 ladleful of cooking water and drain.
8. Add pappardelle and the reserved water to the radicchio mixture. Drizzle with oil and toss to combine.
9. Serve at once with a sprinkle of Parmesan, if you like.