Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
- 4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
- 4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
- Coarse salt and black pepper
- 1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
- Romano or Parmigiano, for grating
- Pumpernickel or whole grain bread, as an accompaniment
Directions
Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion, as an accompaniment, recipe follows
Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.
Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.
Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.
Serve pumpkin sausage pasta with pumpernickel or whole grain bread and Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion.
Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion:
- 1 pound triple-washed spinach, de-stemmed
- 1 small Golden Delicious apple, quartered, cored, and sliced
- 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (a couple of splashes) apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon (a good drizzle) honey
- Coarse salt and black pepper
Place spinach, apple, and onion in a salad bowl. Place oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a small plastic container and fit lid on container. Shake dressing to combine, 1 minute. Pour dressing over salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Yield: 4 servings
Photo: Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage Recipe

















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By kang01
on January 27, 2013
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Made this for dinner tonight and my family loved it! My husband doesn't't really like pasta dishes but he really liked this. My kids ate it and loved it! Thanks Rachel! Another great success!
By Grozdanich
on November 28, 2012
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I made this last year with Pumpkin & didn't think it was enough fall flavor so I made it yesterday with Buttercup Squash which was much better. At the end, I added a little brown sugar & cayenne. I also used whole wheat pasta. My husband loved it and I liked it but didn't like the texture with the ground It. Sausage so would make the sauce & do sausage links on top of it next time.
By woods1985
on November 14, 2012
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If I had to sum up this recipe in one word it would be: FALL. I've made it the past two years, and it's a dish I plan on making every October. I've made it with both mild and spicy Italian sausage, I prefer the spicy Italian sausage. I've also decided I prefer omitting sage from this recipe and substituting it with italian parsley.
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