Pumpkin Fettuccine With Sausage and Sage Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 egg whites
1 yolk
4 tablespoons pumpkin puree
3-4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 Italian sausages (about 3/4 lbs) with casings removed
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 bay leaf
6-8 sage leaves (2-1/2 tablespoons) finely chopped
3/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
whole sage leaves for garnish
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
parmigiano for grating over finished dish

Create Pasta Dough

Whisk the flour and salt together and pour it into a mound on a clean work surface. Pinch all of your fingers together and poke them into the center of the mound to form a well. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites and yolk slightly. Stir in the pumpkin puree. Pour the egg/pumpkin mixture into the well of the flour mound. Pulling from the outside inward, begin swirling and mixing the flour into the wet ingredients. Mix until all flour is moistened. Add water gradually while mixing to form a dough ball that’s slightly moist, but not sticky. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes dusting the surface with flour again as needed. Roll the dough into a ball and cover with an inverted bowl. Allow dough to rest for 20 minutes. After resting, pass dough through a pasta machine according to manufacturer’s instructions for fettuccine. If you are not using a pasta machine, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface thinly (a little less than 1/16”). Cut the rolled dough with a pizza cutter into 1/4" strips. Lightly toss cut pasta with flour and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to cook.

Cook Pasta

To cook the pasta, fill a stock pot 3/4 full with water and bring to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt and add pasta. Cook pasta to al dente stage (about 4 minutes) and drain. Retain pasta water for thinning sauce as necessary.

Cook Sausage

Heat wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat. Add sausage and cook completely (about 5-7 minutes). Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. 

Create Sauce and Add Pasta

Add another tablespoon of olive oil and the onion. Cook onion until softened (about 3-4 minutes), then add garlic. Cook for another minute. Add bay leaf, sage and white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan gently to release any caramelized bits that remain. Reduce the wine to half (about 2-3 minutes). Add chicken stock and pumpkin puree to the skillet and stir to fully incorporate. Cook until sauce begins to bubble (about 2-3 minutes). Reduce heat to medium and add sausage and cream to the skillet. Grate nutmeg in and add salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until thickens, stirring occasionally (about 10 minutes). While sauce is simmering, make the pasta. When both are done remove the bay leaf from the sauce and stir in the cooked pasta. Add small amounts of pasta water as necessary to obtain a creamy sauce consistency while cooking for another minute or two. Serve immediately garnished with fresh sage leaves and a generous amount of grated parmigiano.