Creamy Pumpkin Pasta

• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound linguine, spaghetti, or fettuccine

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 9 3/4 ounces)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

2 medium garlic cloves, grated on a microplane (about 1 teaspoon)

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree, such as Libby’s (about 1 3/4 cups puree)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, as directed on package. Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups of pasta water, and return pasta to pot. Cover pot with lid to keep pasta warm.

While pasta is cooking, cook bacon in a large, deep skillet over medium heat until browned and crispy, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to cool, about 5 minutes.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease in skillet. Add butter to pan and swirl pan until butter is melted. Add rosemary and cook until fragrant and crispy, about 1 minute. Use a spoon to remove about a teaspoon of rosemary from pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-low, add garlic. Saute until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Carefully add pumpkin puree (mixture will bubble), then add heavy cream, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cooked bacon, and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water, and stir to combine. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.

Pour pumpkin sauce over pasta, tossing to coat, adding more pasta water as necessary to coat pasta. Serve, topped with reserved rosemary.