Pasta with salsiccia, pumpkin and sage – a creamy autumn pasta without cream.
There is something special about autumn and its produce – just as there is about spring and summer. This pasta with salsiccia (fresh Italian pork sausage), pumpkin and sage is comfort food at its very best.
The dish is both simple and full of flavour – a rich, creamy pasta made entirely without cream. It is made with hokkaido pumpkin (also sold as red kuri or onion squash), which is in season right now and gives the dish a natural sweetness and a wonderfully creamy consistency.
I start by browning the salsiccia well in the pan so it develops plenty of flavour. Then onion, garlic and small cubes of hokkaido are fried with butter and fresh sage, before I add white wine and stock and let it reduce until the pumpkin is soft and tender.
Once the pumpkin is ready, it is mashed lightly straight in the pan – not completely, a few small pieces should remain so you get both texture and creaminess in the sauce. The browned salsiccia then goes back in, and the freshly cooked pasta is added along with freshly grated Parmesan and pasta water. Everything is tossed together until you have a soft, creamy, silky sauce that clings to the pasta without being heavy.
I season with lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper and top the dish with crisp-fried sage leaves – it looks beautiful, and the crisp sage gives it that little extra. A dish that tastes of autumn, warmth and love – just as it should when the days grow shorter and you crave something that warms you right through to the soul.
Pasta with salsiccia, pumpkin and sage
Ingredients
- 300 g salsiccia fresh Italian pork sausage
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 350 g hokkaido pumpkin, cut into small cubes also sold as red kuri or onion squash
- 25 g butter
- 20 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- 100 ml white wine
- 100 ml chicken stock
- 400 g pasta
- 50 g Parmesan, finely grated
- 1/2 lemon, juice of
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Olive oil
- Pasta cooking water
- Optional: fried sage leaves*
Method
- Heat a splash of oil in a pan and brown the salsiccia meat well. Set it aside on a plate.If you are using salsiccia sausages, start by splitting the casings and scraping out the meat. Chop it roughly or crumble it between your fingers.
- Fry the onion in the same pan until soft and translucent, then add the pumpkin and garlic.
- Add the butter to the pan and fry for a further 5 minutes or so, then add the fresh sage. Toss well.
- Pour in the white wine and let it reduce, then add the stock. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Let it simmer until the pumpkin is tender.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente according to the packet instructions.
- When the pumpkin is tender, mash it roughly in the pan, with a fork for example, then stir in the salsiccia. You don’t need to mash all of it – it should keep plenty of texture.
- Add the pasta to the pan along with the Parmesan and a splash of pasta water, and toss everything together well. Add more pasta water until you have a lovely soft, creamy consistency.
- Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper before serving.
*Fried sage – optional
- I top my pumpkin and salsiccia pasta with fried sage. It is simple and makes a very pretty garnish.
- Heat a couple of centimetres of neutral-flavoured oil in a small saucepan until it reaches a temperature of about 170-180°C.
- Drop the sage leaves or sprigs into the hot oil and fry them very briefly. Then lift them out with a slotted spoon or tweezers and place them on kitchen paper to drain. You now have crisp fried sage.The sage must come out of the oil before it discolours – it looks best when it still has its fresh green colour. If it discolours, the oil is too hot or the sage has been fried for too long.
Nutrition
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