Sausage and Kale Pasta with Butternut Squash

Yield:
6 servings

Preparation Time:
15 min; Cook: 45 min

Heart Healthy; Nutritious and Delicious

Ingredients:

  1. 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and diced
  2. 12 ounces pasta (can be gluten free)
  3. 1 pound spicy italian chicken sausage
  4. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  5. 1/4 cup shallots, minced
  6. 4 cloves garlic, minced
  7. coarse sea salt, to taste
  8. freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  9. 4 cups baby kale, roughly chopped
  10. 4 sage leaves, sliced thin
  11. 2 tablespoons shaved parmesan cheese
Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add butternut squash and gently boil until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes, using a slotted spoon, remove squash and blend in a blender or food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides as you blend.

Add pasta to the same water and return to a boil. Cook according to package directions for al dente. When finished, reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining. Return pasta to pot.

While the pasta is cooking, remove sausage from its casings and in a large deep skillet, add olive oil and saut sausage over medium heat until browned. Break up the sausage with a spoon or spatula as it cooks. Add the shallots and garlic and continue to cook until the shallots are soft, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the pureed butternut squash, season with salt and pepper and add small amounts of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce to your liking, about 1/2 to 1 cup. Add chopped baby kale and sage and stir in parmesan cheese until melted and kale is wilted. Mix together with cooked pasta and stir together.

Photo and food styling by Webstop


TDS 3