What to do with left over pumpkin puree from #thanksgiving2013
Sadly, the holiday weekend is over. With today being the Monday after Thanksgiving, that means its either time to put the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner into the freezer or toss them out since they're no longer fresh. Luckily in our house, there were no leftovers to freeze of throw out but this bowl of pumpkin puree leftover from my Pumpkin Pecan Praline Cheesecake.
So after much research as to what I can do with this pumpkin puree since making another dessert was out of the question coz we were over sweets for the time being, I came across Rachel Ray's Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage.
Easy enough-- I decided to put my own spicy twist on auntie Rachel's recipe to make it my own so here it goes..
Spicy Sausage and Pumpkin Rotini
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 lbs. spicy Italian sausage
Half an onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pieces dried Bay Leaf
4 sprigs fresh Sage, chiffonade
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
Half cup heavy cream
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
METHOD:
-in a heated pan drizzled with a little bit of olive oil, brown the Italian Sausage
-transfer browned sausage into a plate and then on the same pan, saute garlic and onions until translucent
-pour in 1 cup of white wine followed by sage and bay leaf
let the mixture simmer until the wine is reduced by half
-add in the pumpkin puree
-followed by the chicken stock
-place the sausage back into the sauce
-pour in half cup of cream for an added richness
-finish off with a sprinkling of salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg
-let the sauce simmer slowly for about 5 minutes more just to marry the flavors
and dinner is served!
The spicy italian sausage was a nice contract to the rich, creamy pumpkin sauce. I also liked the freshness the sage gave mixed with the warmth of the nutmeg and cinnamon. Its funny how you get the warm feeling of thanksgiving (or like a slice of pumpkin pie) from the pumpkin sauce followed by a surprising kick of heat.
A great alternative to tomato based pasta dishes!
Miks