Pumpkin and Gruyere Rigatoni

I'm freaking out. This one is a fall twist on my viral 'French Onion Soup' rigatoni recipe from a few years back. 

I started the pasta dish off by caramelizing two onions in my FAVORITE butter, Truly Grass Fed and then I went on to add pumpkin, cream, gruyere, and nutmeg before topping the whole thing off with crispy prosciutto and burrata! The caramelized onions compliment the pumpkin and gruyere flavors soooo well,  I can't even. You have to try it!! 

The recipe makes enough for 2 large entrees, 3 medium entrees, or 4-5 smaller side dishes.

What you need:

• 2 white onions, diced or sliced
• 4 tbsp salted butter (I used Truly Grass Fed)
  • Optional white wine for deglazing any sticky onions while caramelizing 
• 4-5 slices of prosciutto 
• 1/2 lb rigatoni pasta
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (half and half will work too since we're melting cheese into it and it will thicken up nicely as well - but IMO, heavy cream is the best texture.)
• 1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
• 2-3 balls of burrata cheese (1/2 for each person eating!)

What to do:

1. Caramelize 2 cups of diced or sliced onions in a skillet by cooking them low and slow in the butter until golden brown and translucent - about 30-45 minutes. (You can add a splash or two of white wine to deglaze the pan if it starts to burn a little.)
2. Prep the prosciutto slices while the onions are cooking! I cooked them in a tiny bit of olive oil in a hot skillet. They curl and shrivel up nicely and become crispy after a few minutes of cooking. Set them aside until it's time to dress the pasta at the end.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rigatoni according to package instructions.
4. When the onion is done caramelizing, add the minced garlic and pumpkin puree and cook for a few minutes on high heat. 
5. Add the cream and gruyere to the skillet, season with nutmeg and black pepper and mix it all together and cook for a few more minutes until it thickens a bit into the most perfect creamy pasta sauce. Turn the heat down to super low while the pasta finished up cooking.
6. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix. Top with fresh black pepper, the crispy prosciutto from step 2, and burrata cheese.