Ingredients 

• 1 pound of rigatoni (or any short pasta shape of choice)
• Two tablespoons of olive oil
• Two tablespoons of butter
• A couple of shallots, minced
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced into a paste or grated 
• Lots of red pepper flakes
• 1 tube of tomato paste 
• 1/2 cup of vodka
• 1/2 can of leftover pumpkin puree (see note)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of heavy cream (see note) 
• 3 tablespoons of butter, cold from the fridge 
• Fresh basil
• Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• Freshly grated pecorino cheese
• Kosher salt 
• Freshly ground black pepper 

Directions  

1. Cook your pasta in salted water until al dente. Make sure you reserve a good amount of pasta cooking water before you drain. 
2. To start the sauce, heat the two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of Olive oil in a large skillet and then add the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook for a few minutes until the shallots are softened and the garlic is fragrant. I add a pinch or two of salt at this point. 
3. Add all the tomato paste and cook, stirring continuously, until the tomato paste is darker in color, about 4 minutes. You want to cook out the raw tomato taste so give it time. I also add another pinch of salt. 
4. Add the vodka and cook until the vodka disappears and a minute or two after that. Then stir in the pumpkin, a pinch of salt, and let the pumpkin warm through for a couple of minutes. Stir in the heavy cream (however much you are using). 
5. Add about a 1/2 cup of pasta water to the sauce and stir until it starts to come together. Taste and season it again with a pinch of salt and black pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. 
6. Add the pasta to the sauce, along with more pasta water, and toss to coat. You can start with a splash or two of pasta water and keep adding as needed. Add the three tablespoons of butter and cook everything together for a few minutes, until the noodles are done. 
7. Off the heat stir in the basil, parmesan, and pecorino. Taste and adjust seasonings. I usually add more red pepper flakes!

Notes

• I usually have leftover Libby’s pumpkin puree from making pumpkin bread or pumpkin cinnamon rolls and I love using the leftover pumpkin for this pasta. If you have more or less that’s fine just use what you have left over! 
• I usually use less than a 1/4 cup of heavy cream. We prefer how it tastes when I use less cream and add the butter at the end. If you prefer the taste of more heavy cream then you may want to add less butter at the end so it isn’t too rich.