Fettucine with Pumpkin Sauce & Toasted Walnuts

• 4 cups peeled and cubed pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 4 ounce cream cheese
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 (1-pound) box fettuccine
• ½ cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss pumpkin with olive oil and arrange on a sheet pan in a single layer. Roast 20 to 25 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. While pumpkin is roasting, cook fettuccine according to package instructions.  Drain, do not rinse and set aside. Transfer pumpkin to a food processor and add stock, cream cheese, garlic, salt and nutmeg. Process until smooth, adding additional stock if desired. Transfer pumpkin sauce to a small saucepan and heat over low heat until warm. Toss cooked pasta with sauce and divide among plates. Garnish with walnuts. Tip: If you can’t find pre cubed pumpkin or squash, don’t be intimidated by cutting it up yourself.  Look for smaller varietals of pumpkin like sugar or cheese pumpkins rather than the big ones you carve for Halloween. Cut about ¼-inch off the top and bottom to give yourself a flat steady gourd to work with. Then use your knife to trim the thick peel around the whole body of the pumpkin. Once peeled, cut in half and remove the seeds. Next cut the halves into smaller wedges and eventually into similar size cubes. If the skin of the squash is tender enough, try peeling it with a vegetable peeler instead of your knife – this works well with butternut squash in particular!