The Great Pumpkin Pasta
It’s the Great Pumpkin (Pasta), Charlie Brown! Cozy and comforting like a Peanuts movie, this autumnal pasta dish combines pumpkin with The Stag to create a dreamy, creamy sauce. Orecchiette pasta cradles all the flavor, and Italian sausage makes it a full meal. Made all the more indulgent when finished with a drizzle of browned butter sauce with crispy sage, The Great Pumpkin Pasta is sure to become a new favorite comfort recipe!
What You’ll Need:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 15oz can pumpkin purée
5.3 oz The Stag, approximately 1 1/2 cup shredded
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb your favorite pasta shape, we used Orecchiette
1/3 lb ground Italian sausage
3 tablespoons salted butter
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
How to Make It:
In a sauce pan, sauté garlic and shallot until the garlic is fragrant and the shallots are translucent. Add the pumpkin purée and heavy cream and stir. Once the mixture is fully combined, add 1 1/2 cup of the shredded Stag in small handfuls. There should be a bit of The Stag left over to use as a garnish. Mix until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
In a large pot, begin to boil your pasta, making sure to generously salt the water. In a separate pan, brown the Italian sausage. Once fully cooked, drain and set aside.
When the pasta is al dente, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and return it to the large pot. Mix in the Italian sausage. Add the pasta water to the sauce pan to slightly thin the pumpkin and Stag sauce before mixing it into the large pot of pasta and sausage.
In a small pan, brown the butter, adding the chopped sage as it begins to bubble to infuse the flavor and crisp the herb.
Plate the pasta and top with a drizzle of the browned butter and crispy sage. Enjoy!