Ziti with Pumpkin and Sausage

Happy Halloween!!

I saw a recipe for Pumpkin and Sausage Penne recently and that was my inspiration for this dish which I thought was a perfect dinner for Halloween. Some carbs you can burn off while walking the neighborhood with good protein and spinach for vitamins.  Plus yummy pumpkin for a very festive feel!  Be sure to check out my post on making your own fresh pumpkin - so worth the effort. 

Ziti with Pumpkin and Sausage
1 lb ziti pasta, I used semolina but a whole wheat pasta would be great here
12 oz chicken apple sausage, cut into 1" pieces
Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Chicken Stock, about 1 1/2 cups
Pumpkin Beer, half a bottle
2 cups fresh pumpkin (or 1 can pure pumpkin)
Fresh Grated Nutmeg
Grated Cinnamon
Salt & Pepper
Fresh Spinach, 9 oz bag
Heavy Cream, one turn of pan

Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente and reserving 1 cup of starchy pasta water before draining - be sure to salt your water well so your pasta tastes good.  Meanwhile heat oil in large skillet and add sausage, cooking until brown.  Add onion and cook for few minutes then add garlic and cook until onion is softened being careful not to burn garlic.  Also season with salt at this step.  Add pumpkin, stock, beer, a good grating of nutmeg, a good punch of cinnamon and pepper.  I add quite a few turns of black pepper as I want to be sure to add the heat from the pepper to counteract the sweetness from the sausage and seasonings.  Bring this mixture to a simmer, reduce heat and cook until it starts to thicken.  If it gets to thick this is where you can add the pasta water to thin it out. 

Just before pasta is done add the spinach to the pumpkin mixture and stir until wilted.  Drain pasta and add to skillet and combine.  Taste to adjust seasoning and you may need to add a little more pasta water to help sauce cover all pasta.  Add cream just before serving and be sure to combine.  You can also use a little sour cream or creme fraiche here or just omit it. I don't want to make a cream sauce but think the small addition at the end helps round out the sauce. And of course be sure to taste and adjust seasonings before serving!

Vegetarian Option: You could easily substitute hearty mushrooms for the sausage here and use a vegetable stock to make a vegetarian dish.  It would be delicious!

ZITI WITH PUMPKIN & SAUSAGE

Not my Most Successful Dish!

I have to admit I wasn't overly thrilled with my dinner this evening but I think I may have tried to be too healthful. Or perhaps my previous aversion to greens is catching up with me.  In any event, I made some brown rice which I will admit has been something only in the last two years I've been able to consume without yearning for the empty calorie, white version. 

Over the brown rice I had sauteed young garlic with chard, spinach and some julienne of yellow bell pepper.  I also sprinkled a little Thai Red Pepper sauce over the greens for some heat.  I enjoyed maybe the first 6 bites and then it started to lose me.  My inspiration as I mentioned in an early post was a friend saying she did a similar dish over wild rice and I think that may have been key. The wild rice would have added more flavour and texture which was sorely missing in this dish.  What I do have to say is that I once again really enjoyed the flavour from the young garlic - it's a mellow, sweet garlic flavour and it's very yummy.

Oh and I'm now regretting handing over the entire bunch of kale to my Mom!  A friend suggested fried kale chips and I've seen Melissa D'Arabian makes those and swear by them. She says her kids request them!  So I may have to get back some of that kale and give those a try.

Week Two!

I just picked up this week's vegetables and am SO excited. We got a big bunch of fresh cilantro!!!  I am trying to grow some of my own but have never had much luck because I've been told it doesn't get hot enough here but this bunch looks beautiful. I am a sucker for cilantro . . I am not one of those crazy people who think it tastes like dirty dish water.


Here is this week's lists:
Spinach
Young Garlic
Radish
Komatsuna
Cilantro
Kale
Chard
Panisse Lettuce
Scallions
Rhubarb

There will however be no cooking today - I have to leave work a little early to go into Boston to the Pop's so I won't be taking time away to work. There is also a chance I won't be able to cook tomorrow as I am going to my office in Connecticut and that is a long day with a 3 hour trip each way. Maybe I'll be in the mood when I get home but we'll have to wait and see.

A quick tip - I find storing the greens much like herbs in a plastic bag with a bit of paper toweling in the bag keeps them fresh longer.

Everything but the kitchen sink . . in the salad bowl!

I spent the entire day visiting nurseries all over the Cape with my Mom and a friend today.  Then I put in an hour or so in my Mom's garden. We're putting in a whole new garden at her house so it's been taking up a lot of my time this spring.  Anyway I got home starving but in no mood to light up a stove.  I saw the bunch of spinach and arugula in the fridge so I decided to make a huge salad for myself.  I rough chopped both so they were in bit size pieces.  I added the french bell radishes, chive blossoms and from my garden parsley and mint.  From my produce drawer I also threw in some grape tomatoes, red bell pepper slices, shredded carrots and blueberries.  Shredded carrots are one of my new discoveries - so easy to keep in the fridge and add a salad for crunch.  And yes I put blueberries in my salad - try it and you'll love it.  I also added some chick peas to the salad for protein and tossed it all with a vinaigrette.  My favorite part of this salad was the mint and how it heightened the flavours of everything else.