Radiatore With Pumpkin Sauce

4 Tbs unsalted butter
1 shallot, very finely chopped
salt and pepper
1 lb 12 oz pumpkin, unprepared weight
12 oz dried radiatore
generous 3/4 cup light cream
4 Tbs freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley, plus extra to garnish

1) Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom pan over low heat. Add the shallots, sprinkle with a little salt, cover and cook, stirring frequently, for 25-30 minutes.
2) Scoop out and discard the seeds from the pumpkin. Peel and finely chop the flesh. Tip the pumpkin into the pan. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, return to a boil, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain thoroughly, reserving about 2/3 cup of the cooking liquid.
4) Stir the cream, grated Parmesan cheese and parsley into the pumpkin sauce and season with salt and pepper. If the mixture seems a little too thick, add some or all of the reserved cooking liquid and stir. Tip in the pasta and toss for 1 minute. Serve immediately, garnished with chopped parsley, with extra Parmesan cheese for sprinkling.

Review: I love pumpkin, but hate that I only get to eat it in the fall. I figured I could tweak this recipe and use canned pumpkin, since it's a sauce. I used two cans and eliminated 45 minutes of cooking! I probably should have used 1 can, since this came out mostly sauce. I used extra cream, instead of reserved cooking liquid to make it less thick. Unfortunately, Mike helped me cook and kept commenting on the color and texture, insisting it looked like baby poo. This led to us being fearful to taste it! It's not so bad, after we added more salt and cheese. I think it would have been yummier if I'd only used one can, as the ingredients weren't proportionate. I guess I'll just have to make it again!