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February 06, 2009
Chorizo and Squash Pasta [Bake]
This is a take off of an Italian Sausage and Pumpkin Pasta that my friend Andrea makes. I wanted to make it once but didn't have pumpkin or italian sausage, so I substituted. Turned out great, and we baked the leftovers a few days later with some mozzarella cheese on top and that was great too! Try it both ways.
Ingredients
1 pound bulk Chorizo sausage (you could also use Italian Sausage, of course)
4 cloves garlic, sliced or minced (as you like)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, (or a hefty pinch of rubbed sage)
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup stock (veg or chicken)
1 cup leftover cooked squash (or canned pumpkin)
1/2 cup heavy cream (or evaporated milk, per Andrea's recipe)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 pound penne or farfalle pasta, cooked to al dente
Romano or Parmesan, for serving
Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat and brown the sausage in it. Remove sausage, reserve some of grease and then saute the garlic and onion 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.
your host for this episode : carrie; February 6, 2009 03:14 PM