Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling add in the dried pasta and cook according to the package directions. Once cooked reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, drain and return the pasta to the pot. You can toss the noodles with a touch of oil to prevent them from sticking together. Meanwhile, prep your vegetables by dicing both the onion and red pepper then set aside.
Add the sliced bacon to a cold pan and turn to medium heat. If the bacon doesn't all fit cook it in batches. If you stack or overlap the slices they will meld together.As the bacon cooks turn and rotate as necessary to promote even cooking until golden and crispy, this took 8-10 minutes for me.Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and finely chop or crumble once cool. Carefully remove all but two tablespoons of fat from the pan and add in the diced peppers and onions.Stir and scrape up all of the bacon bits stuck to the bottom and continue to cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables have softened, about 8-10 minutes. Toss the smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, cayenne and salt into the pan and stir constantly until fragrant before adding in the tomato paste and stirring until it reaches a deep red colour.
Transfer the cooked vegetables to the blender with the reserved pasta water, entire can of pure pumpkin and the heavy cream then blend to combine. This sauce is INCREDIBLY thick so you may need to scrape down the sides a few times.
Add the sauce to the pot with the pasta and return to medium heat, stirring and tossing with tongs until all of the noodles are coated and everything is hot.
Divide between plates and serve each portion of pasta with a generous grating of parmesan cheese, bacon bits and fresh cracked pepper. Enjoy!
