Pasta with Pumpkin Cream Sauce, Sausage and Sage
Pasta with a Pumpkin Creme sauce, sausage and sage is a comforting fall dish. It's not too complicated to make, so it's perfect for a busy dinner night meal.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil plus 1 tablespoon; divided
- 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage NOTE: turkey sausage works well
- 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 not pumpkin pie filling
- 1/2 cup 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 (sometimes I use bow tie pasta)
- Romano or Parmigiano for grating
Crispy sage:
- 12 whole sage leaves
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- 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.
Optional sage garnish:
- In a small skillet, heat 1-2 Tablespoon olive oil and add 3-4 leaves (per serving) of fresh sage. Cook until crispy (a few minutes) and drain on a paper towel. Garnish the pasta with the crispy sage leaves and drizzle the oil over the pasta, right before serving.
Notes
Recipe source: Adapted from Rachel Ray, Food Network
Optional garnish: toasted walnuts would be a fun addition, for extra texture.