A hearty meat sauce with meltingly tender pumpkin chunks.
Watch me make it here: https://youtube.com/shorts/IIYpp9X9vzc
Ingredients
- 14 ounces pasta
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- 4 cups diced pumpkin, seeded
- 3 cups puréed tomatoes
- 1-3/4 cups beef stock
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 large carrot, trimmed and diced
- 1 celery rib, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon each: dried thyme, dried sage, dried marjoram, smoked paprika, chili flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 heaped tbsp tomato paste
- sea salt + black pepper
- fresh thyme + chili flakes, for serving
Directions
- Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan or Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, carrot and celery, cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin cubes, cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- In a separate pan, cook ground beef and break it up a little with a wooden spoon. (I separate this to prevent grease in the final dish).
- Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked through. Drain the meat.
- Add the meat into the pan with the other ingredients.
- Stir in the spices, season with salt and pepper. Add beef stock and bay leaf, simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the tomato purée and tomato paste. Cover, simmer for 10 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.
- In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions.
- Add the pasta (minus the pasta water) into the main pan and stir up.
- Serve plates of pasta with the sauce and ricotta spooned over top. Add a sprinkle of chili flakes or thyme.