We had this with roast broccoli both times. (An easy way to roast broccoli is to preheat your oven to around 400 F, and pour 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in. Let the oil heat up in the oven. Then dump a bag of frozen broccoli florets onto the hot pan, quickly season with spices and salt, and put back in the oven. Roast until it's done to your liking.)
Creamy Sausage Pumpkin Pasta
adapted from The Tipsy Housewife
1 pound of ziti, rigatoni, or radiatore pasta (16 ounces)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small sweet onion
1 lb. Italian sausage
fresh sage leaves, 6-8, chopped
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1 8-oz package of Neufchatel or cream cheese
2 1/2 cups water
1 heaping tablespoon of beef bouillon paste (ex: Better than Bouillon)
black papper, to taste
dried parsley
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
salt, to taste
1. Boil the pasta according to the package direction, drain, and reserve one cup of the pasta water in case it is needed.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep sided skillet. (I use a large non-stick stock pot.) Finely chop the onion. Add to the pot/pan and sauté the onion until tender. Add all of the sausage to the skillet. Cook fully, until golden brown, breaking up the meat into a fine crumble as you cook it. Season with black pepper to taste. Add the fresh sage to the skillet. If you do not have fresh sage, add about 2 teaspoons of dried. Taste and add as much as you like. Sauté the sage for a minute or two with the sausage/onion.
3. Add the bouillon to the skillet and the 3 cups of water. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and simmer on very low 20 minutes. Cut up the cream cheese into small cubes and let soften for a few minutes while the skillet simmers. After the 20 minutes, add the canned pumpkin and the cream cheese to the pot/pan. Whisk until the cream cheese and the pumpkin are incorporated into the broth. Bring to a simmer again, whisk here and there, and simmer for 5-10 minutes. The sauce should reduce down a bit but will still be more liquid than thick. Add a few pinches of the dried parsley.
4. Add the pasta to the skillet, toss the pasta to coat, and simmer about 3-5 minutes. Let the pasta absorb some of the sauce. This will thicken as it cools. Add the Parmesan cheese, and stir until the cheese is melted. Taste now, and add salt if needed. I needed about 1/2 teaspoon. Also, at this point, you can add some reserved pasta water if the sauce is not creamy enough. Top with parsley flakes, if desired, and serve.
**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **
No comments:
Post a Comment