Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Italian Sausage

Late January and cold in that particular Chicago way where the cold itself becomes a personality. I have been leaning hard into winter cooking as a coping mechanism, which at this point is a well-established pattern and I am not even trying to change it. This week: cassoulet, which is a French bean and meat braise that takes two days and has four steps and produces something extraordinary. I used the simplified version: canned white beans, duck legs from a specialty grocery I went to specifically for this, Italian sausage, garlic, tomato, thyme. It bubbled in the oven for three hours. The apartment smelled like a restaurant that has been open for a hundred years.

Ryan ate it and was silent for a moment and then said it tasted like France, which he knows from a CFD training trip four years ago. I said you trained in France. He said for four days. I said what did you eat. He said he could not remember the name but there was duck and beans and it tasted like this. I said I will take that. He said take it. It is one of the better things I have made and I will make it every winter for the rest of our lives.

I got my vaccine appointment — first shot January 30th, teachers are in the priority group, and this small fact has been doing something to my nervous system all week that I can only describe as relief arriving before the actual thing that causes it. Ryan is also in a priority group and got his slightly earlier. The conversations about the vaccine distribution in our apartment are the conversations of two people who know what the word exposure means in a specific way.

Patty called at 7:15 to ask about the vaccine, then to tell me about the wedding florist, then to ask about the food plan, then to say she was just checking in. That last part is always the real part. I know. She knows I know. We have been at this for twenty-five years and we are both very good at it now.

The cassoulet called for Italian sausage, and I bought more than I needed because that is how I shop when I am cooking something ambitious and hopeful. The extra links sat in the fridge for two days while I was still emotionally processing the duck legs, and then I made this — creamy pumpkin pasta with Italian sausage, which is its own kind of domestic luxury, faster and less ceremonial than a braise but still the thing your apartment smells like when someone walks in from the cold and immediately asks what’s for dinner. January needed both recipes. I’m giving you the one you can make on a Tuesday.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

12 oz rigatoni or penne pasta
1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Fresh sage or flat-leaf parsley, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining. Set pasta aside.
Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Italian sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 7–8 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate and drain all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.
Saute the garlic. Reduce heat to medium. Add the minced garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute until fragrant. Do not let it burn.
Build the sauce. Add the pumpkin puree and chicken broth to the skillet, stirring to combine with the garlic. Pour in the heavy cream and stir. Add the dried sage, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg. Simmer over medium-low heat for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly.
Combine everything. Return the browned sausage to the skillet. Add the drained pasta and toss to coat thoroughly in the sauce. If the sauce feels too thick, add the reserved pasta water a splash at a time until it reaches a consistency you like.
Finish with cheese. Remove from heat and stir in the grated Parmesan until melted and glossy. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Divide into bowls and top with additional Parmesan and fresh sage or parsley if using. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Italian Sausage — When the Apartment Smells Like a Restaurant