Sausage Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. bulk sweet Italian sausage
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1½ cups canned pumpkin
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- To taste salt and pepper
- 1 lb. rigatoni, cooked to al dente
- 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, drain pasta and set aside.
- Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to the skillet and brown the sausage. Transfer sausage to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside.
- Add garlic and shallot. Sauté 3 to 5 minutes until translucent. Add wine to the pan and reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Add pumpkin, broth and 1 tablespoon sage and stir to combine.
- 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. Add the cooked pasta to the pan and gently toss to combine. Thin the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water as needed if it seems too thick. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately, topped with Parmesan cheese and sage leaves.
