Gemelli with Creamy Pumpkin Sage Sauce
My sister and brother-in-law have some property just up the road from us. They are dreaming about and planning for their future home but in the meantime, it’s a giant grassy field for their very young children to run wild and free on. We are all looking forward to the day when cousins run between the two houses and the yellow school bus chugs up the road to take the whole gaggle of them off to school. Someday.
Because the grass was getting long and overgrown, my husband offered to move some of our cows to their property. It solved a couple of problems in that no one had to figure out how to mow multiple acres of overgrown grass and it gave us an opportunity to feed our cows nutrient dense food. At the end of an incredibly hot, dry summer, good healthy grass was hard to come by and in very short order.
For weeks, my husband and our boys worked on fencing the property, digging holes for fence posts and stringing barbed wire. The project was not without its challenges, among them a broken down tractor and a badly split thumb from a miss with the hammer. But, they got it done, coming home in the evenings when it was finally dark, starving and dirty. It was fun to watch my boys be of actual help on the project and so special to see them all working together.
When the cows arrived at their new home, I don’t think I’ve ever seen my 4-year-old nephew so delighted. To celebrate, I made this decadent and creamy pasta dish. It happened to be a bit windy and rainy that day, making the dinner that much more cozy and special feeling. One of my kids likened the dish to ‘mac and cheese, but you know, really good.’ I’ll take that as the highest form of compliment when offered from my tween.
The great thing about pumpkin puree is it’s mild flavor. I love to use it in savory dishes for its warm earthy flavor. I couldn’t resist upping the flavor with a bit of sausage for richness and a couple big handfuls of spinach for texture and to brighten up the dish. The silky pumpkin cream sauce is rich and flavorful, perfect for these cold fall nights.
As always, make this one your own. Use cauliflower instead of spinach or skip the veggies all together. Use cooked spaghetti squash or whole-wheat pasta in place of the gemelli for a healthier addition. You’ll find that just about anything smothered in this lovely creamy sauce will taste just fine.
Gemelli with Creamy Pumpkin Sage Sauce
1/2 pound mild Italian sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium walla walla sweet onion, minced
3 cloves garlic minced
3 leaves fresh sage minced
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Dash of cayenne
1 pound gemelli pasta
2 cups baby spinach leaves or lacinato kale leaves (chopped into bite-size pieces)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
In a large sauté pan, begin by browning the Italian sausage, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon into small pieces. Cook the sausage over medium-low heat until brown and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Transfer sausage to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside.
In a separate pot, boil gemelli pasta in generously salted water according to package instructions. Drain water from pasta reserving one cup of pasta water.
Return sauté pan to heat and add one tablespoon olive oil and the onion. Stir often until the onion is translucent and beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, mixing into the onion, stirring until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Turn heat to low and stir in pumpkin puree, half and half, minced sage leaves, nutmeg, cayenne and salt and pepper. Allow mixture to thicken slightly, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Return sausage to pan along with the cooked pasta and two tablespoons reserved pasta water if needed to slightly thin the sauce. Gently stir in baby spinach and shredded parmesan cheese. Turn heat off to pan. Mix until spinach wilts and the parmesan cheese melts. Garnish with an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a few fresh sage leaves. Serve immediately. Serves 6.