| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 25 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
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
- Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion, as an accompaniment, recipe follows
- 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
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.
- Serve pumpkin sausage pasta with pumpernickel or whole grain bread and Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion.
- 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.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1085 |
| Total Fat | 46 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 122 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 15 g |
| Sugar | 17 g |
| Protein | 41 g |
| Cholesterol | 77 mg |
| Sodium | 1544 mg |
Reviews
Delicious! Added 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper for a little kick and 1/2 cup pasta water to thin it a little since it’s a pretty thick sauce
It was pretty good! Not a keeper for us but many will like it.
My family loved this recipe! The instructions are clear and easy to follow. The spices combined with the pumpkin, fresh sage, onions and garlic is a very pleasant and flavorful combination. I followed Rachel’s recipe exactly and I wouldn’t change a thing :). The sauce is wonderfully aromatic! Be sure to use fresh sage as it makes all the difference. I’ll definitely make this fabulous Fall entree again!
Very nice! Will make a little more sauce next time. Added a bit of crushed red and used quarter teaspoon pumpkin pie spice instead of individual spices. Will be in our fall rotation for sure.
I wanted to like this so much. It looks delicious and sounds delicious, but something was just not appealing. I did not have fresh sage so perhaps I will try it one more time with fresh sage.
Did this meal this week when a guest flew in from another state…everyone loved it and he took the recipe back to his family to cook at home. I added mushrooms as we had those on hand, and would say that next time we make it, we’ll put more cream, stock and wine in to create more sauce. I may put a half can of cream of chicken or mushroom in also. We like spice so added some red pepper flakes on top along with cheese.
This was easy to make and I had everything on hand. I did add some fresh basil to the top and it was a great dish. I actually cooked the pasta in the sauce after adding the wine and broth, will definitely be making again! Great way to use pumpkin!
This looks really good, I wonder if you could use butternut squash instead?
Really good! I added crushed red pepper for some heat and extra pumpkin! Yummy!
This was a really good recipe. I was looking for something special and quick for Halloween. I did everything except the sausages. My parents can be funny about sausages. That being said I used mushrooms instead and it was a really tasty meal.