italian pasta recipes: stracci in pumpkin sauce with pork shoulder

Mark Gowen
Sep 30, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Nov 12, 2025

I came across ‘stracci’ (‘rags’) in a supermarket in Montepulciano, Tuscany this summer. They’re an unusual shape and probably impossible to find outside Italy, but you could use any of the pasta I’ve listed on the left to get a similar result.

This recipe is the first of this season's autumn pasta in our Italian Pasta Recipes series. It's from the first Vol of the Pasta & Magic series, Oil Sauce, which you can buy here: https://www.pastaandmagic.com/buypastaandmagic

ingredients

FOR FOUR PEOPLE

3-4 pork shoulder steaks
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
pumpkin or squash
150ml (8.5 fl oz) single cream
pecorino toscano
fresh sage leaves

PASTA
450g (16oz) dry stracci (Pasta Panarese)
/ farfalle / corzetti /
paccheri / torn lasagne sheets

what you'll need to do

chop and cook pumpkin, onions and garlic
blend and make the sauce
cook the pork
add cream to the sauce
boil the pasta
combine sauce and pasta, serve

cooking the pumpkin

Chop 2-3 large handfuls of pumpkin or squash into 2cm cubes and cook gently with the finely chopped onion and garlic and a few fresh sage leaves. Add a splash of wine and season, then allow the vegetables to become super tender. At that point remove the pan from the ring and blend until you get a smooth sauce. Keep it warm on a low heat.

cooking the pork

Cook the pork on a high heat until well done, then chop it into small pieces - if you’re able, use a BBQ or charcoal grill to cook it. Stir the cream, to taste, into the sauce.

finishing and combining the sauce and pasta

Boil the pasta and when it’s done transfer it to a pasta pan with the sauce. Toss to combine. Add half the pork, toss again and then plate each portion with the remainder of the meat sprinkled on top.

Serve with pecorino and black pepper.