Pumpkin + Chicken Sausage Pasta
Servings: 6
Little orecchiette ears cuddle bits of scratch-made chicken sausage and silky pumpkin sauce. Quick and easy, done in 45 minutes.
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Ingredients
Chicken Sausage Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chicken or ground turkey
- 1½ tsp. dried oregano
- 1½ tsp. fennel seeds
- 1½ tsp. garlic powder
- 1 to 1½ tsp. red pepper flake
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- ¾ tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Pasta and Sauce Ingredients
- 1 lb. orecchiette or other small pasta use gluten free pasta if you choose
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 3 cups pumpkin puree (two 15 oz. cans)
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 bunch curly or lacinato kale, large ribs removed, chopped into 1" pieces
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the Sausage
- Crumble the ground chicken into a mixing bowl. In a small bowl, mix remaining herbs and spices. Sprinkly the herbs and spices over the ground chicken and drizzle with the olive oil. Rinse your hands in cold water and gently knead the spices into the ground chicken until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
Make the Pasta and Sauce
- Put a large pot of generously salted water on to boil for the pasta. While the water comes to a boil, in a wide pan brown the sausage mixture in olive oil-- enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Stir frequently, breaking up the sausage into bite-sized bits. This should take 6-8 minutes. Remove cooked sausage and juices to a plate and set aside.
- In the same wide pan heat another swirl of olive oil. Saute the minced shallot in the olive oil until tender and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin, white wine, and salt to taste. Stir together and heat until gently bubbling.
- When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package directions. This may happen before or after the pumpkin mixture has come together.
- When the pasta is cooked al dente (it will finish cooking in the sauce, so don't overcook it!) reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. (Don't forget this step, as it helps make a beautiful silky sauce!) Drain the pasta and return it to its cooking pot.
- Add the chopped kale and cooked sausage and its juices back into the pan with the pumpkin mixture and stir in one cup of the pasta water. Scrape the sausage/pumpkin mixture into the cooked pasta and stir. Add enough more of the reserved pasta water to create a smooth, silky sauce that evenly coats the pasta. The pasta will continue to absorb the liquid, so be generous. Adjust salt and pepper. Serve in a large serving dish or in individual pasta bowls.
Notes
It is conceivable to garnish this dish with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, however my cheese-loving husband says this is the "cheesiest pasta with no cheese" he's ever eaten! Omitting it makes the dish dairy-free.
If you'd prefer, you can use store-bought hot Italian chicken sausage, but this is such an easy and delicious sausage recipe I do hope you'll give it a try.