Pasta with Pumpkin & Sausage
Submitted by happyzhangbo
Pasta with pumpkin and Italian sausage in a creamy sage-spiked sauce. A rich, autumn-leaning weeknight dinner that treats canned pumpkin like the flavor workhorse it is.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
14 minREADY
26 minThis is pumpkin’s case for being taken seriously at dinner, not just dessert. Browned sweet Italian sausage builds the base, then garlic, onion, bay leaf, and fresh sage get sweated down before white wine goes in to deglaze. Chicken stock and canned pumpkin thicken into a velvety sauce that a splash of cream brings together.
The cinnamon and nutmeg might sound dessert-forward on paper, but the amounts stay small enough to read as savory warmth. They’re the signature that makes this dish taste bigger than its parts.
Toss the al dente penne with the sauce over low heat for a full minute. That final minute is when the pasta soaks up the pumpkin and the sauce binds to the noodles instead of pooling.
Chef Tips
- Use pure canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. The pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, and it’ll throw the whole dish off.
- Reduce the wine by half before adding liquid; raw wine tastes harsh and thin.
- Don’t skip the cinnamon-nutmeg combo. Even ⅛ teaspoon of cinnamon is what makes the pumpkin taste like pumpkin here.
- Chiffonade the sage (stack, roll, slice) so it distributes without any chewy stems.
Variations
- Swap pumpkin for butternut squash puree or roasted mashed sweet potato.
- Use hot Italian sausage instead of sweet for more heat.
- Stir in a handful of baby spinach or kale at the end so it wilts into the sauce.
Ingredients
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.
Sauté 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.
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