Photo: Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage Recipe
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
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By Eldiva
Chicago, IL
on January 07, 2012
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Absolutely delicious! Changes: made my own Italian style sausage using lean ground turkey meat and added some squeezes of honey at the end to balance out all the savoriness - it's now one of our new favorite pasta dishes. This is perfect anytime -but especially on a chilly day or nite- it almost feels like a hearty bowl of chili, but instead of beans you are using pasta! Really delicious, the nutmeg really comes through in a great way - all the flavors work well-it's a unique dish that doesn't disappoint if you enjoy lots of layers of flavor! Definitely a must try it! Ps-there is a slightly different version on rachael rays show site that omits the cinnamon and replaces these onions with shallots-I tried it without the cinnamon 1st and found it to be missing something, when i added the cinnamon it was perfect!
By ALR85
Wadesboro
on December 22, 2011
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I was excited about trying this recipe, however the flavors did not come together as well as I had expected. Will be looking for a new Pumpkin pasta recipe in the future.
By jlporter2586
on December 06, 2011
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This pasta wasn't a favorite, but it wasn't bad by any means. I really wish I would have added more nutmeg. I don't think I grated enough in to the pot. It had a warm kind of taste, but I think I left out too much nutmeg. My husband and picky brother-in-law ate it without complaints. Also, I made the simple salad she suggests with it, and it was delicious. My husband actually ate the dressing. He usually won't eat anything besides ranch. Overall it was good, but I think I'll only make it once a year around Halloween or Thanksgiving.
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