A tasty Fall pasta dish featuring sausage and spinach. Sage and/or Rosemary add perfect autumn flavors.
Author:Laura
Prep Time:5 mins
Cook Time:30 mins
Total Time:35 minutes
Yield:8 Servings 1x
Category:Pasta
Method:Stovetop
Ingredients
Scale
16 oz. Penne Pasta
1 lb bulk mild (sweet) Italian Sausage
2 T Olive oil
Small sprig fresh Rosemary
4–6 Sage leaves
22 oz. (3 cups) Pumpkin Puree
3/4 c Half-and-half (or whole milk)
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/4 t grated Nutmeg
5 oz. Fresh spinach leaves
1/2 c Freshly grated Parmeggiano-Reggiano cheese
1 T Cider Vinegar
2 c reserved Pasta water
Red Pepper flakes – optional
Instructions
Make the pasta
Prepare pasta al dente according to package directions. Just before pasta is done, reserve 2 cups of the salted pasta water.
Make the sauce
In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil. When oil is hot, saute the rosemary sprig and sage leaves until crispy. Remove from oil to a paper towel. Reserve.
Add the sausage to the hot oil. Cook until done. Drain any excess fat.
To the sausage, add the pumpkin purée, half-and-half, garlic, nutmeg, spinach, Parmesan, Cider Vinegar. Stir until bubbly, adding reserved pasta water as necessary. (I ended up adding 1 1/2 cups of the reserved water.)
Simmer the sauce an additional 2-3 minutes until heated through. Add cooked pasta. Add additional reserved water as needed. Important: Test to see if you need more salt, you may need to salt generously. Transfer to serving dish. Top with reserved herbs, chopped if desired.
Add red pepper flakes and additional Parmeggiano-Reggiano at table, as desired.