Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Pumpkin Penne with Sausage

Hmmm... What to do with some leftover pumpkin puree?

Determined to get it right this time (versus this time, and this time), I took a look at my previous attempts at making a pumpkin-related pasta dish. This time I got it right.

My plan of attack was to almost mimic my Penne ala Vodka, using pumpkin puree instead of tomato sauce, and adding meat. My meat of choice this time was maple-apple chicken sausage, which was a perfect match for the pumpkin. I cut the sausage into bite-sized pieces and browned them (even though it was pre-cooked) in some olive oil. Once browned, I added a couple handfuls of shallots to the mix, cooking until slightly soft. A bit of chicken stock deglazed the pan of its dark brown sausage-y bits, and after reducing for a few minutes, I added my leftover pumpkin puree (which was maybe 3/4 cup). I let the ingredients mingle as our (whole wheat) pasta cooked, then added some heavy cream, a little butter (never underestimate the power of butter!), and some salt and pepper.

It was perfect. It was almost perfect. It was so very orange, though, and John and I both decided that the addition of some sage in the next rendition would be the perfect cure.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok! I am going to try this. I already have the sausage, sage, whole wheat pasta, and pumpkin. Now all I need are the shallots. Oh how exciting!

Erin Murphy said...

I am so excited that you are trying my little recipe!!! You could use onion, instead, if you have one! You could also use half-and-half instead of cream, I'm sure.

John is also excited that you'll be making this! :)