Pasta with Mushrooms and Pumpkin Gorgonzola Sauce

Sometimes you make something that says that it is "cooking light" but really, it feels heavy BUT it also feels delicious, so then you just go with it. well, that is what this dish was for me.

When I first perused through my cooking light book, I came upon this recipe and immediately was sold. I love pumpkin, I love mushrooms and I LOVE cheese, so I may or may not have felt that this recipe was a god's gift to me. I had wanted to make this numerous times before but I ran into some issues with certain grocery stores not selling gorgonzola (really, who does that?) and other random dilemmas. However, the day finally came where I had all the ingredients to whip up this gem of deliciousness.

Ingredients

• 1 pound uncooked pennette (small penne)-- I am certain I just used regular penne...and I used about 3/4 of a standard box
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 3/4 pound whole mushrooms)-- I used white sliced because that is what I had :-)
  
• 4 cups vertically sliced onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage-- yeah, didn't use this
  
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
• Fresh sage sprigs (optional)-- yeah, didn't use these...I know, I lack when it comes to fresh herbs but I am on a serious budget here!
  

Directions

1) Boil water and cook pasta but make sure to keep it warm.

2) Heat oil in a Dutch oven (or any largish pot/pan with a lid) over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic; cover and cook 3 minutes.

3) Uncover; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

4) Combine milk, cornstarch and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and stir with a whisk.

5) Add cornstarch mixture and cheese to milk mixture, stirring with a whisk. Cook 2 minutes or until thick and smooth, stirring constantly.

6) Remove from heat; stir in pumpkin, salt, pepper, nutmeg and a tablespoon of brown sugar(my special ingredient).

7) Add pasta and pumpkin mixture to mushroom mixture; toss well to combine. Top with fresh herbs, if you like that sort of stuff.

8) Share and Enjoy!

I may or may not love this dish. It is a little time consuming but I had leftovers for almost the entire following week, so it was definitely worth it. I find that if you use canned pumpkin (as I do), there can be a strange after taste. This may just be me, so I added some brown sugar to add some more flavor but also to help mediate that weird taste.

Posted: 12/29/10
Made: 10/17/10