Recipe by cyninkoken

Cozy pasta night, but make it special.

This pumpkin rigatoni with guanciale, oyster mushrooms and porcini pangrattato is rich, crunchy and deeply savoury – without being fussy. The sweetness of pumpkin, the saltiness of crispy guanciale and the tang of Neolea balsamic vinegar make this the kind of dish you’ll want on repeat all season.

Perfect for a weekend dinner with friends or a laid-back date night, this recipe turns simple ingredients into a restaurant-worthy plate of creamy pumpkin pasta you can easily recreate at home.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the pasta

• 400 g pipe rigate (or rigatoni)
• 400 g pumpkin cubes
• 150 g guanciale
• 200 g oyster mushrooms
• 50 ml cream
• 2 cloves garlic
• 50 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp Neolea balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbsp Neolea Pan olive oil

For the porcini pangrattato (optional – it’s amazing even without)

• 60 g panko breadcrumbs
• 10 g dried porcini
• 1 clove garlic

How to make it

1. Make the porcini pangrattato
   Grind the dried porcini in a food processor until you have a fine powder.
   Heat 2 tbsp Neolea Pan olive oil in a pan with 1 pressed clove of garlic. Add the porcini powder and panko and fry for 3–4 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Season with salt and pepper and let cool on kitchen paper.
2. Cook and purée the pumpkin
   Cook the pumpkin cubes in lightly salted water until soft (about 10 minutes). Drain, but reserve some of the cooking water. Purée the pumpkin with a (hand) blender until smooth. Add a splash of the cooking water if needed to loosen the purée.
3. Crisp up the guanciale
   Fry the guanciale in a dry frying pan over medium heat until the fat renders and the pieces are golden and crispy. Remove the guanciale from the pan and set aside, but leave the rendered fat in the pan.
4. Cook the oyster mushrooms
   Tear the oyster mushrooms into strips. Fry them in the guanciale fat until golden brown. Add 1 pressed clove of garlic and the thyme and cook for 1 minute. Deglaze with 1 tbsp Neolea dark balsamic vinegar and let it briefly caramelise.
5. Cook the pasta
   Cook the pipe rigate according to the package instructions in salted water. Before draining, reserve a generous cup of pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta.
6. Bring everything together in the pan
   Add the pumpkin purée to the pan with the oyster mushrooms (you can keep a few mushrooms aside for garnish if you like).
   Stir in the cooked pasta, the cream and a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss over low to medium heat for 1–2 minutes, until a thick, creamy sauce coats the pasta. Add more pasta water as needed to reach a silky consistency.
   Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir half of the crispy guanciale through the sauce, keeping the rest for garnish.
7. Serve
   Spoon the pasta onto plates. Top with the reserved oyster mushrooms, the remaining guanciale and a generous sprinkle of porcini pangrattato.
   Finish with some extra grated Parmesan and a few drops of Neolea balsamic vinegar – and, if you like, a final drizzle of Neolea Pan olive oil.