Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

All I want to do is write about my dog.  But I am trying to stay focused here.  Pasta.  Broccoli Rabe.  Sausage.  Mix.  Eat.

That is really all there is to this recipe, which is why I like it.  In order to eat bitter greens like broccoli rabe, it is all about pairing it with something uber savory, salty and/or creamy.  Fat works too.  As you have probably noticed, lately I am all about quick and easy meals like this.  

Buy good, fresh sausage.  :D

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

from Tiny Urban Kitchen

1/4 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed and cut into bite size pieces

1 lb. broccoli rabe, blanched (see below)

1 cup broccoli rabe water (see below)

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb. pasta

Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Bring a pot of water to boil for cooking the pasta.

Heat oil and add garlic in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sausages and sauté until meat is cooked and loses its raw look. Add blanched broccoli rabe.  Add rabe water and salt and pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until the contents are hot.

Meanwhile, cook pasta rapidly boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Place over medium-high heat and stir in 3/4 cup of broccoli rabe and sausage sauce. Using a wooden spoon, toss together for 1 minute. Remove from heat and pour into a large serving platter or bowl. Spoon remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle with Pecorino Romano cheese.

Blanched Broccoli Rabe – (2 bunches)

Wash and dry broccoli rabe. Place broccoli rabe in a deep saucepan with cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring just to a simmer over high heat. As soon as bubbles appear at the sides of the pan, remove it from the heat. Reserve cooking water. Immediately place broccoli rabe in cold water to stop the cooking process. When broccoli rabe is cool, drain well in a colander and pat dry. Chop broccoli rabe into 2-3 inch pieces.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 20 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  6/10

Scot (taste):  7/10

Effort:  3/5

Dishwashing Effort:  3/5

Sausage, Potato and Green Bean Camp Casserole

Since we have lived in Colorado, we have missed lots of 4th of July fireworks.  Which means a lot of things:

1.  Copper loves life a lot more.

2.  We have spent the holiday mostly in the mountains.  

3.  The fireworks in CO are pretty lame!  Just sayin'!

This year, Scot, the mountain man, declared, "I need mountains AND fireworks!"  So, we took a hiking/camping trip and made it back to the city for the fireworks.  Since Scot is resting from an injury, I took his sister up Mt. Elbert.  And we survived!  Without boys!  

I am honestly a little surprised.  

Nothing against the sis-in-law, it is ME.  When I say I have no sense of direction, I mean it.  And getting lost on the tallest mountain in CO is just not ideal.  Especially when I am chaperoning a newbie.  

Luckily there were 8 million other people also hiking it AND only one turn/decision along the entire trail.  I love being dramatic and making things seem way harder than they are!  Yay!  

After a long hike, making use of the first aid kit (several times) (sis-in-law secretly fell off the mountain...aw, she's fine), and plenty of blisters later...we were ready for a hearty dinner.  And this is what we had!

Smoked sausage is a great day 2/3 camping ingredient.  First, it is meat.  And meat is good when you are in the woods.  Gawd, it is so good.  Second, it is pretty "food safe".  (I have no proof of this, so I am not liable...if it doesn't work out for you.)

Something about this meal was so full filling (butter).  Stick to your ribs.  Meat and potatoes.  Yum!

For dessert, we tried out this baked banana dessert thing (it is kind of like a fancy s'more stuffed in a banana):

I personally did not indulge in one of these babies because that is just too much for me to handle.  But Scot thoroughly enjoyed it.  Sis-in-law did too but was a little on the fence about warm banana-ness.  Definitely fun and different from your typical s'more.  

Sausage, Potato and Green Bean Camp Casserole

adapted from Allrecipes

1/2 stick of butter

1 medium onion, diced

3/4 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used Kielbasa)

3/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and halved

7 small to medium sized Yukon gold potatoes, diced small

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup water

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

In a large cast iron skillet, melt butter. Add onion and kielbasa and let cook for about 5 minutes. Add green beans, potatoes, salt, and pepper. Add water and tightly cover with foil. Place over a grill for 20-30 minutes (opening up and turning occasionally…added more water as needed) until potatoes are tender.

(Servings: 3, Prep time: 20 min., Cook time: 40 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  8/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  2/5

Dishwashing Effort:  2/5

Copper just isn't a floor dog.  And I wouldn't be one either, so who am I to judge.

Goat Cheese and Chorizo Rolls

We brought this appetizer to some friends' house recently.  It is a phyllo dough roll filled with goat cheese, chorizo and chives with a chimichurri rojo dipping sauce.  I love this appetizer for lots of reasons.  First, these were delicious with very few ingredients.  Second, everything can be prepped in advance and just baked up right before they are served.  Third, yeah, probably the goat cheese did it for me.  

The recipe calls for a dry cured Spanish chorizo.  Something you would find at the deli or by the salami.  I couldn't find it so I just bought fresh Mexican chorizo and cooked it up and chopped it into tiny pieces.  I was careful to drain all the fat and make sure it wasn't too oily.  I thought it tasted great.  

I was kind of rushed when I made these because I had to make them in the morning.  Frozen phyllo dough needs to be defrosted in the fridge for at least 8 hours and then sit out for 2 hours before you can use it.  If you rush it, you will regret it.  It ended up working well for me, but I didn't use enough butter to seal all the rolls so some of them kind of exploded when I baked them.  But they still tasted delicious.  Lastly, the dipping sauce was great (Scot and I agreed that we liked them better with the sauce) but they had plenty of flavor without it too.  

Goat Cheese and Chorizo Rolls

by Food.People.Want

8 ounces fresh goat cheese

1 cup chopped dry chorizo

1 1/2 tablespoons minced chives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Nine 12-by-16-inch sheets of thawed phyllo dough

Melted butter, for brushing

Chimichurri rojo dipping sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 400° and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the goat cheese, chorizo and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lay a sheet of phyllo on a clean, dry work surface and brush it with melted butter. Top with two more sheets, lightly buttering each as you go. Cut the layered phyllo into six long rectangles. Place one tablespoon of the goat cheese filling at the base of each rectangle and roll up the phyllo, folding in the sides as you go. Repeat twice more to make 18 rolls total.

Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheets and brush the rolls with butter; bake for 10 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot with chimichurri rojo for dipping.

(Servings: 18 rolls, Prep time: 20 min., Cook time: 15 min., Difficulty: Intermediate)

Chimichurri Rojo

1/2 cup sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons hot paprika

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon toasted and ground cumin seeds

1 bay leaf broken in half

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to incorporate.

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  8/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  3/5

Dishwashing Effort:  2/5

Sauerkraut and Kielbasa Pizza

Sauerkraut smells.

Right?  That is what I always thought.  One of my Boulder friends gave me a bottle of her homemade sauerkraut recently.  Homemade food thingies have a very special place in my heart.  Tear up a little when I am gifted food.  However, of all the things in the world that you can make, I have never once considered making sauerkraut.   

When my friend was telling me she made sauerkraut, first I thought...weirdo.  Second, I listened and she said it tastes nothing like the canned stuff at the store.  And I had a revelation, "you know, I have never had non-fresh kimchi and I have always loved the stuff."  Then I thought, "I bet homemade sauerkraut is just as amazing."  And, it is!  And it does NOT smell so bad.

Don't get me wrong, I totally plug my nose and scoop plenty of canned sauerkraut on my Reuben.  Once it is mixed in with all the other lovely Reuben ingredients, it tastes fine.  And you gotta have it.  But, boy does it reek.  

I really wanted to try this sauerkraut on pizza, so I searched around to find an interesting recipe.  I found this one, and it inspired the recipe below.  I loved the sauerkraut on this pizza.  So good!  I used a turkey kielbasa and thought it added a nice salty balance.  But, I think any sausage or salty meat would be great.  And of course, I topped it with some sliced dill pickles.    Sorry if that makes you want to puke, but I am telling you...it is good!    

Sauerkraut and Kielbasa Pizza

1/2 of PW’s pizza dough recipe

1 small to medium yellow onion, sliced

2 cups of sauerkraut, plus some juice

2 tbsp of Dijon mustard

2 ounces of cream cheese

4 ounces of mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 ounces of Swiss cheese, shredded

4 ounces of kielbasa sausage, thinly sliced

fresh cracked pepper

sliced dill pickles

Preheat the oven to 475-500 degrees F.

In a small skillet, sauté onion slices in a little olive oil. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, until soft. Add sauerkraut and a tsp or so of the juice. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Stretch out the dough onto an oiled baking sheet. Spread Dijon mustard all over the dough with the back of a spoon. Crumble the cream cheese on top. Layer the onion/sauerkraut mixture on next. Sprinkle on shredded mozzarella and Swiss cheese. Top with sliced kielbasa sausage and plenty of fresh cracked pepper.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the crust is crispy and the cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve with sliced dill pickles!

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 20 min., Cook time: 15 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  7/10

Scot (taste):  7/10

Effort:  2/5

Dishwashing Effort:  2/5

PW's Lasagna

Nicole's lasagna post last week got me looking through all the lasagna recipes that I have saved.  So, I thought I would try out Pioneer Woman's "The Best Lasagna.  Ever." recipe.  

I have a strange and complicated history with lasagna.  It is one of those things that I have never loved, but at the same time, never hated.  And while Nicole's lasagna was pretty healthy (for a lasagna), most lasagnas are just a pile of fat and carbs.  And I can appreciate something like that.  Don't worry.  But only in moderation.  

This particular recipe intrigued me for the following reasons:

-Lots of meat.  About 2.5 lbs and a mixture of sausage and beef.  Yikes!  That is like 4 cows.  ...and a pig.

-Cottage cheese instead of ricotta.  Wha?!?!  I'll try it.  

-Two layers only.

-Meat on top!

The truth is, I could hardly handle all this meat.  Although I am a big talker about my love of meat, truth is, I cannot and do not desire to eat large quantities of meat.  This is a man's lasagna.  Men should eat this after a long day of hunting.  Or after playing Rugby.  In the rain.  Covered in mud and blood.  

On the other hand, I absolutely loved the entire meat/tomato layer while it was simmering on the stove.  Maybe I should just put it in a little ramekin and eat it with a tiny spoon.  Wearing a skirt.  

How do I feel about the cottage cheese layer?  Eh.  Not sure.  Indifferent.  Ricotta any better?  Eh.  

I mean:  lasagna is lasagna.  And I am still waiting for one that changes my life.  This one was good.  This butternut squash version is better.  But so different, so how can you even compare them?

Eating a salad with your lasagna automatically makes it healthier.  

PW’s Lasagna

by Pioneer Woman with modifications by foodforscot

1 1/2 pound ground beef (90/10)

1 pound mild Italian sausage

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 32-ounce can whole tomatoes

2 6-ounce cans tomato paste

4 tablespoons dried parsley

2 tablespoons dried basil

salt

3 cups lowfat cottage cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for top

1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

1 package (10 ounce) lasagna noodles

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and some salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).

To assemble: Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a

 little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.

Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.

Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

(Servings: 8-10, Prep time: 1 hour, Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:  

Shanon (taste):  6/10

Scot (taste):  7/10

Effort:  3/5

Dishwashing Effort:  3/5

Apple, Sausage and Goat Cheese Pumpkin Pizza

I wanted to make another version of the pumpkin pizza since the dough recipe makes two pizzas.  This combination is more similar to Joanne's version.  I topped mine with apple, sausage, caramelized onions and goat cheese.  

Like last night's version, I love the combination of something sweet like apples with something really salty and savory like blue cheese or goat cheese and bacon or sausage.  I, of course, prefer this version since it has goat cheese on it.  

Apple, Sausage and Goat Cheese Pumpkin Pizza

adapted from Eats Well With Others

for pumpkin pizza dough (makes 2 pizzas):

1 tbsp yeast

3/4 cup warm water

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp unsalted butter

3/4 cup warm water

1 tbsp salt

3 cups white flour

3 cups wheat flour

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

for one pizza:

1/3 lb of sausage

1 small onion, sliced

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced

1 tbsp of olive oil

4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the yeast, 3/4 cup water, and the brown sugar. Let sit for about five minutes or until it starts foaming. While the yeast is proofing, in a small microwave safe bowl, combine butter, salt, and 3/4 cup water. Heat mixture in microwave until the butter is melted. Let it cool until you can stick your finger in it without getting burned. Pour this into the yeast mixture. With paddle attachment, mix everything on low for a few seconds. Add pumpkin puree and mix on low until combined. Add all the white flour. Mix on low until well combined.

Switch to a dough hook and add most of wheat flour. Start on low until well combined and then increase speed. Continue to mix and add flour until dough pulls away from the sides and is mostly stuck to the dough hook. Cover the bowl of the stand mixer with a damp paper towel and allow the dough to rise until doubled, about one hour.

Place pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 475.

Cook sausage in a skillet until browned. Rinse and dry skillet. Add some olive oil and caramelize onion slices, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from pan and add more olive oil and apple slices. Cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Remove from pan and set aside.

After the dough has risen, cut off half of it. Sprinkle the half with flour and mold it into a ball. Place on a clean surface that's covered in flour and roll out to a desired thickness. Place dough in oven on the pizza stone, and prebake for two minutes.

Brush prebaked crust with olive oil and top with apple slices, caramelized onions, sausage, and goat cheese. Slide onto pizza stone and bake for about 10 minutes or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown.

(Servings: 6, Prep time: 75 min., Cook time: 20 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  8/10

Scot (taste):  9/10

Effort:  4/5

Dishwashing Effort:  3/5

Green Chile Hominy Casserole with Chorizo

My MN/WI friends call casseroles hot dishes.  They love them up there.  Probably because it is below freezing 80% of the year.  The one casserole I have heard most about is a tater tot hot dish.  I have actually never even had it!  I haven't made many casseroles in my lifetime.  I am more of a non-casserole person.  

However, when I saw this casserole recently on Homesick Texan's awesome blog, I decided I could be a casserole convert.  For one night only.  

First, this casserole has hominy, chiles, and cilantro in it.  Three of my favorite ingredients ever!  And if you can believe it, they are even better together.  I first discovered my love of the hominy/cilantro combo in posole.  And who would of thought that cooked cilantro would be so good?

Now, add chorizo, cheese and sour cream.  All fat free ingredients.  Perfect!  

Also, this is a one pot wonder.

Green Chile Hominy Casserole with Chorizo

by Homesick Texan

2 poblano chiles

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/2 pound Mexican chorizo, removed from casing and crumbled

1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

2 jalapeños, seeds and stems removed, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 15-ounce cans of hominy, drained

8 ounces sour cream

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

2 teaspoons lime juice

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Salt and black pepper to taste

Roast the poblano chiles under the broiler until blackened, about 5 minutes per side. Place chiles in a paper sack or plastic food-storage bag, close it tight and let the chile steam for 20 minutes. Take the chile out of the bag and rub off the skin. Remove stem and seeds and cut dice chiles.

Preheat the oven to 350.

On medium-low heat, heat the vegetable oil and then cook the crumbled chorizo while occasionally stirring in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet until brown, about 8-10 minutes. With a slotted spatula, remove the chorizo and drain any excess grease

from the skillet, leaving 1 teaspoon. Add to the skillet the diced onions and jalapeños while occasionally stirring, cook on medium-low heat until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.

Remove the skillet from the heat and add the diced poblano chile, chorizo, hominy, sour cream, cumin, cayenne, cilantro, lime juice and half of the cheddar cheese. Stir until well combined, taste and add salt and black pepper and adjust

seasonings. Top with remaining the cheddar cheese and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbling.

(Servings: 4-6, Prep time: 1 hr., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  8/10

Scot (taste):  10/10

Effort:  2/5

Dishwashing Effort:  2/5

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

When I think of stuffed squash (or really stuffed anything), I think of my mom.  She always made different stuffed creations for dinner.  As I was preparing these stuffed zucchini boats, Scot came into the kitchen and said something like, "wow, this is a unique kind of meal."  It is just funny because this is like spaghetti and meatballs to me.  That is an exaggeration.  Maybe it is like chicken noodle soup to me.  

These are some pretty healthy stuffed zucchini boats.  And they were really good.  We had them with some buttered white rice.  

Also, I had quite a bit of extra stuffing.  So, I just starting stuffing anything I could find.  I ended up filling two tomatoes and some onions.  Tomatoes...good.  Onions...good bowl for stuffing.  

Finally, I have decided to start a rating system.  For every recipe, I am going to provide my taste rating, Scot's taste rating, effort rating and dishwashing rating.  I will post these rating scales in the "about food" page above.  One thing to remember is that these ratings are different the "Difficulty" rating that is on each recipe.  That is actually referring to the technical difficulty.  I realize that my recipes are almost always rated "Easy".  But that is because they don't require any type of experience or skills to make.  Ya know.  

_______________________________________

Taste Rating

1-inedible (obviously would never post such a thing)

2-

3-forgettable (obviously would never post such a thing)

4-

5-a solid meal

6-

7-yum!  will definitely make/eat this again

8-

9-near perfection

10-can't imagine anything better

Effort Rating

1-so easy!

2-

3-some down time, could multitask other duties as I cooked

4-

5-Mad crazy woman in the kitchen during this meal

Dishwashing Effort Rating

1-Shanon cleaned up mostly everything before we ate dinner

2-

3-decent amount of cleanup

4-

5-Scot had quite disaster to deal with, had to whip out the drying towels

_______________________________________

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

from Annie’s Eats

1 zucchini, about 12 inches long (or 2 6-inch)

2 tbsp. olive oil, divided

1/2 cup onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 lb. turkey sausage or ground turkey

2 tbsp. dry white wine

2-3 tomatoes, seeded and diced

3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving a shell about 1/4-inch thick. Reserve about half of the insides.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides to the skillet and sauté another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in the sausage or ground turkey and cook until lightly browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cooked onion and mushroom mixture. Add the wine to the pan along with the tomatoes, basil and rosemary. Cook for 1 more minute. Drain of any excess fat, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Once the turkey mixture has cooled a bit, mix in the Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini shells with the mixture. Fill a baking dish with 1/4-inch of water. Place the filled zucchini shells in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the zucchini from the pan and serve immediately.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 40 hr., Cook time: 40 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings

Shanon (taste):  6/10

Scot (taste):  6/10

Effort:  3/5

Dishwashing Effort:  2/5  

Gemelli with Fennel and Hot Sausage

We eat lots of pasta.  And I really like simple, quick pastas.  I also need to change things up.  All the time with pasta.  

This is roasted fennel, carrots, onions and sausage.  Then tossed with any short pasta.  Deglaze the baking pan with some of the pasta water.  Add that.  Done.  It is really easy.

I loved the sweet carrots and all the roasted-ness.  And the sausage is important, otherwise I am thinking it would be too bland.  

I will note that I could have roasted everything for about 25 minutes rather than 30 minutes.  So, make sure you check the roasted-ness as you get closer to 30 minutes.  

And I realize I didn't use gemelli pasta.  But who cas.  Scot just told me you can't spell cares with an accent like that.  See ya!

Gemelli with Fennel and Hot Sausage

by Rachael Ray

3/4 pound hot italian sausage links, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 large bulb fennel, cut into strips

1 large onion, sliced

3 carrots, sliced on an angle

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 pound gemelli pasta

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 425°. On a baking sheet, toss the sausage, fennel, onion and carrots with the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente; drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water. Transfer the pasta to a large bowl.

Add the sausage-vegetable mixture to the pasta. Add the reserved pasta cooking water to the baking sheet, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to the pasta mixture. Toss in the parsley; season with salt and pepper.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 20 min., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta

I made this pasta last fall. And I think it will be a recipe that I will make every fall from now on. It calls for canned pumpkin puree, but you could even roast your own! Bobby Flay says he can't tell the difference, so you can use that as an excuse for using canned. That is what I did. Make sure to get the regular pumpkin puree and not that the pumpkin pie filling.

The sage, sausage, pumpkin combo is awesome. This sauce is naturally thick and creamy from the pumpkin puree, so feel free to leave the cream out or even use milk instead. I just used milk.

I think this would still be good without the sausage to make it vegetarian. I would suggest replacing the sausage with something that has some contrast to the creamy sauce. Hmmm....maybe bacon? JK. I don't know a good replacement, so let me know if you do. Oooh, maybe some roasted red pepper? Grilled asparagus?

Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta

by Rachael Ray

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

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.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: none, Cook time: 45 minutes, Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version