Sausage and Pumpkin Pasta

Wow. I realize by the skeptical reactions I received when I told people I was making this that this combination of ingredients sounds odd to most people, but again I say wow. This recipe was delicious, super filling (no surprise there, gigantic serving + filling ingredients) and tasted like something you’d get in a fine dining restaurant. The combination of the white wine, chicken broth and pumpkin made a surprisingly creamy & decadent sauce and the Parmesan cheese and spices finish it off perfectly. The original recipe said you could substitute more chicken broth instead of the wine if you so desire, but I think the wine added a lot to the flavor profile, so I wouldn’t. I’ve made three recipes from Taste of Home’s Healthy Cooking in the past two weeks and all three were home runs. I think I have found a new favorite recipe source!


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Sausage and Pumpkin Pasta

Yield: 4 (1-¾ cup) servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups uncooked wheat bow tie (farfalle) pasta (I weighed the 2 cups and it was exactly 5 oz of dry pasta)
  • 1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed (I used Jennie-O Lean Sweet Italian Sausage. Two links were exactly ½ pound)
  • 1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 cup Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup white wine (I used Riesling – my favorite!)
  • 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used a Parmesan-Romano mix)
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Directions:

  1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain & set aside.
  2. While pasta is cooking, spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and cook the sausage, onions and mushrooms over medium heat until the sausage is fully browned. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Drain if necessary. Stir in the broth, pumpkin, wine, sage, garlic powder, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.
  3. Add the pasta to the skillet and combine. Heat ingredients together for a couple minutes until heated through.
  4. Before serving, sprinkle Parmesan cheese and parsley flakes over the top.

MyWW SmartPoints per (1 3/4 cups) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 8 SmartPoints/ Purple: 4 SmartPoints

Weight Watchers Points Plus:
7 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Adapted from Taste of Home