Pumpkin Sage Pasta

Tonight I made a favorite comfort food dish. It is still a healthy one though!! We have both been feeling under the weather this week so I wanted something warm and comforting. Pumpkin Pasta with Sweet Sausage, and Sage fit the bill!!!

It is adapted from a Rachel Ray Recipe that can be found here. I changed a few things to lower fat and out of necessity as I simply didn't have any white wine on hand tonight. I have made this a few times with either cauliflower or sausage. This time, I made it with BOTH! It was a great way to bulk up the pasta. I make more sauce than the original recipe as I always felt like it needed more.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound bulk sweet Italian Turkey sausage
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 6 or more sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade
• 1/4 cup vermouth
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup Fat Free Evaporated Milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 1 small head Cauliflower, sectioned into "big-bite sized" florets
• 12 oz. whole wheat penne rigate
• Parmigiano, for grating

Directions

Sauteing onions

Break up cauliflower in florets.

Cook the pasta according to the directions BUT cook the cauliflower florets in the boiling water for the last 5 minutes. Hey, It's one less dish to clean! Drain and set aside. :) Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. I used sausage in casing so I just removed the casing and broke up the sausage. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet, leaving enough fat to saute the onions. Saute the garlic and onion 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Pasta cooked with Cauliflower

Such a great orange color!

Add sage, and vermouth to the pan. Reduce vermouth 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 evaporated milk. 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. Pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta and cauliflower. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Enjoy!!!!