Lots of yummy ingredients for a new recipe

Yesterday I invented something new... I actually took inspiration from different recipes, but I had the need to do something not spicy and without tomatoes or tomato sauce for a friend of mine that wasn't so well.
So it needed to be a white pasta and quite quick, so i could make it at their place. I then thought about something I didn't cook so much in the year like mushroom and walnuts too. 
I love walnuts especially with cheese and I had the impression they could go well together. But we needed a bit of taste more... why not some smoked pancetta cut in thin slices?
Finally, to mix all the ingredients, I thought I could use some spoons of mascarpone . I'm not a big fun of the cream and mascarpone and walnuts sounds perfect to me.
Here is the full recipe, that was a success by the way and I hope you will think the same :)
For this dish I used the Ziti but actually next time I will go for something slightly smaller like Calle Pastificio dei Campi or even Fusillata Casereccia.

Ingredients for 3 people:

- 1 garlic clove
- from 300 to 400 gr of pasta Pastificio dei Campi
- Olive oil
- 3-4 tablespoons of mascarpone (1 box of 200gr will be more than enough)
- 250gr of mushroom (you can use the big Portobello Mushrooms nice and tasty or even dry Porcini but you will need to leave them soak a bit and then drain them before to cook)
- 100gr smoked pancetta
- a glass of white wine
- Salt pepper
- grated Parmesan
- and some crushed walnuts depending by your taste!
Put some oil in a pan with the garlic and the mushroom cut in pieces. Let them cook...they will release lots of water. Then put the water for the pasta to boil with a generous amount of salt and cut the pancetta in pieces.
When the mushrooms are almost cooked, add the pancetta and let it cook. Add salt and pepper. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and wait the time written on the box.

When the water from the mushrooms has gone, add some white wine and let it evaporate. 
A part put some mascarpone in a bowl with some hot water from the pasta and mix.
Finally drain the pasta al dente and place it in the pan with the mascarpone e some crushed walnuts. Toss it, mix it all well ( the mascarpone doesn't need to be too much) and serve with some Parmesan another little bit of walnuts and some pepper!

I hope you will enjoy it :)

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All the best flavors from the autumn for a vegetarian pasta 

- 600gr pumpkin already clean (it's better the taste of the bigger pumpkin respect to the little ones)

Put the dried mushroom in a container and cover them with warm water. Wait around 20 minutes and drain them, being careful to keep the water from the mushroom. 

Put some Olive oil in a pan with the chopped onion. Cook it until goldish and then add the pumpkin cut in little pieces. Let it cook a bit in the oil and then add the sage, the rosemary, some salt, pepper and the white wine. The pumpkin will take a bit to cook and get soft (at least 20 minutes) and you will need to add the water from the mushroom every now and then to let it cook.

In another pan you will prepare the mushrooms: put some olive oil with the garlic cloves and let it cook until goldish. Then take the garlic off and add the fresh mushrooms in slices with some chopped parsley. Let it cook in the garlic oil until ready.

Prepare the saucepan for the pasta with some a good quantity of water and salt and add the pasta when boiling.

At this point add the Porcini and the fresh mushrooms to the pan with the pumpkin and finish to add the mushroom water or some stock water if this is already finished. Let it cook until is all mixed and the pumpkin is soft and then taste it, to see if you need some more salt, pepper or chili. You can even add some Parmesan now, if you like it.

Drain the Pennoni and toss them with the sauce. Let them absorb the flavors and serve it with a last touch of parmesan on the top. 

What do you think? was it enough of a treat to avoid the Halloween tricks?

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