Description
Roasted pumpkin pasta with sage is a sweet, savory, and earthy pasta dish that perfectly embodies the flavors of fall. Made with fresh pumpkin and sage, sausage, spices, parmesan cheese, and cream, there's a lot to love about this satisfying meal.
Ingredients
- 1 3-pound pumpkin (or 1-16 ounce can pumpkin puree)
- A small bunch of fresh sage leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1-inch piece of fresh ginger
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound sausage (casings removed)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/2 cups broth
- 1 pound pasta
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Prep the fresh ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the pumpkin into quarters, cut off the top, and scoop out the seeds. Roughly chop the sage leaves - you'll need about 3 tablespoons total. Mince the garlic. Peel and chop the ginger. Chop the onion.
- Roast the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle over 1/2 teaspoon of salt and half of the chopped sage. Roast in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until easily pierced with a knife.
- Cook the sausage. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage into small pieces. Allow to cook until mostly browned, about 10 minutes. If a lot of fat has accumulated in the process, carefully drain off most of it into a bowl. Then add the garlic, ginger, onion, bay leaf, cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper. Stir to combine and cook until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes or so.
- Puree the pumpkin. If the pumpkin hasn't finished cooking in the oven at this point, turn off the heat on the pan and wait until it has finished. Then, let the pumpkin cool enough so you can handle it. Peel off the skin with a spoon or knife, break it into pieces, and add to a food processor. Process until smooth, with a splash or two of water, as needed. Measure out 2 cups and save any extra for another use.
- Make the sauce and pasta. Fill a large pot with water and set over high heat to boil. In the meantime, pour the wine in the pan and simmer over medium heat until reduced in half. Add the broth and pumpkin, bring to a simmer, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened. When the pot of water is boiling, add several pinches of salt and your pasta. Cook until al dente, then drain.
- Finish and serve. Stir in the half and half and cheese into the sauce. Cook for another couple of minutes, then remove the bay leaf, taste and add salt, if needed. When done, serve the pasta topped with the pumpkin sage sauce and additional shredded cheese and sage leaves.
Notes
For a richer sauce, use heavy cream in place of half and half.
To save time, roast and puree the pumpkin up to 2 days in advance. Or, use a can of pumpkin puree.
If you're feeling ambitious and have the extra time, lightly fry whole sage leaves in olive oil until crispy and serve as a garnish to your pasta.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American
