Orecchiette With Butternut Squash And Sausage Recipes

ORECCHIETTE WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH, KALE, AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a spoon and stirring occasionally, until browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings. (If there's less than 2 tablespoons, add some olive oil.)
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the squash, toss to coat with the oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, the chili powder and some pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the squash is deep golden brown and just tender (but not falling apart), about 15 minutes. (Add a few tablespoons of water if the squash is getting too dark or dry before it's tender.) Remove to the bowl with the sausage.
• Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, which is usually a minute or two less than the box calls for. Reserve 3/4 cup cooking water, then drain.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat and add about half the kale and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, tossing, until wilted, adding more kale as each batch wilts. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and toss. The whole process will take about 3 minutes. Some of the kale will be browned and some less cooked-that's fine!
• Add 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water to the pan, then the squash, sausage, pasta and a generous amount of pepper. Cook, carefully tossing with 2 big spoons to avoid mashing the squash, until well combined and the pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. If it seems dry, add more of the reserved cooking water. Top with shaved parmesan.

ORECCHIETTE WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium heat. Add squash seeds and pulp. Cook, stirring occasionally, until seeds puff and turn golden, 10 minutes. Season with salt; transfer to a plate. Add 2 tablespoons butter to skillet; melt. Add sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 2 minutes. Transfer to another plate. Add squash flesh to skillet. Season with salt, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10 minutes.
• Stir in pasta, 1/2 cup pasta water, and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Simmer until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes. Add more pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time, until pasta is evenly coated; season with salt. Top with squash pulp and seeds, sage leaves, ricotta, and poppy seeds. Drizzle with oil and serve.

ORICHETTE PASTA WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH, SAGE & ITALIAN SAUSAG

Steps:

• Boil water (salted) for pasta.
• Heat large skillet over med-high heat. Add olive oil; swirl to coat pan.
• Add squash and cook 5-6 minutes until browned and caramelized, tossing until all sides are browned. Transfer to bowl. *This can be done ahead of time.
• Add sausage to pan and cook until well browned. Drain. Return sausage to pan.
• Stir in garlic and crushed red pepper, if using, and cook 1 minute.
• Add white wine and simmer, uncovered, 1-2 minutes stirring constantly and scraping pan to loosen any brown bits. *This can be done ahead of time.
• As a time saver: At this point you can set the squash and sausage aside.
• Return squash to pan; add chicken broth and sage. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until squash is very tender, about 10-12 minutes.
• Add pasta to the boiling water for pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions. When al dente, drain well.
• Add pasta to squash & sausage mixture, then cook and stir for 2 minutes.
• Add paremesan, pepper , season to taste with salt. Serve.

PASTA WITH SAUSAGE, SQUASH AND SAGE BROWN BUTTER

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, cook the sausage: In a sauté pan or skillet large enough to hold all the pasta, add the sausage and enough cold water to cover. Set over medium-high heat, then remove from the heat when the water hits a boil, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Transfer the sausage to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch coins. Dry out the pan and return it to the stove.
• In the same pan, heat the olive oil over high until nearly smoking. Add the sausage and cook, flipping once, until dark brown on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate, then reduce the heat to medium. Add the squash and a pinch of salt to the pan. Let cook, stirring briefly and scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
• While the squash is browning, add pasta to boiling water, and cook to al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and drain the pasta.
• When the squash is nicely browned, add the butter and sage and cook until the butter is golden, nutty smelling and foaming, just a minute or two, then immediately remove the pan from the heat and add back the sausage.
• Add the pasta to the pan and mix with the brown-butter sauce (if the pasta has cooled off quite a bit, return the pan to low heat while you combine everything). Stir in the cheese, then add pasta water as needed to smooth the sauce. Adjust with salt and pepper, and serve with extra Parmesan, if you like.