Recipes Discovered - Recipes

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage, or sausage links with casing removed
• 4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
• 2 cups pureed roasted pumpkin or squash
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 8 ounces penne or fusili, cooked to al dente and drained
• 1 tomato, seeded and diced
• Romano or Parmigiano, for grating as a garnish
• Sage leaves, for garnish

Directions:

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the tablespoon of oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Add the sage and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Add the pasta to the sauce, and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with diced tomatoes, shaved cheese, and sage leaves.

Serves 4.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

I made this recipe before with canned pumpkin, and can definitely says it’s worth the effort to use freshly roasted pumpkin or squash. It makes the sauce taste so much better. Excellent pasta dish.

To roasted the pumpkin or squash, peel, seed, and dice the pumpkin or squash and spread on a foil lined baking sheet. Toss with oil, salt, and pepper. Roasted in a 425 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until soft. Puree in a food processor or blender with a little chicken stock.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound rigatoni or penne
• Salt
• 1 pound cooked chicken sausages (or other sausage of your choice), sliced on an angle
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large green or red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 large cubanelle pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock, a couple of glugs
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, (recommended: San Marzano)
• Handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, 10 leaves, torn or shredded
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus some to pass at table

Directions:

Place a pot of water on the stove to boil for pasta. When the water boils, salt it and cook pasta to al dente, with a bite to it. Drain the pasta.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

While pasta sausage cooks, heat a deep skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add the peppers, onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the sausage, and cook together until peppers and onions are tender and sliced sausages are crisp at edges then deglaze the pan with white wine or chicken stock. Stir in crushed tomatoes and bring to a bubble, reduce heat to low.

Combine the ricotta cheese, salt and pepper, parsley and basil and half of the Parmigiano, a couple of handfuls, stir to combine.

To assemble, place half the sausage, peppers, onions and sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Top with all of the pasta and spread the ricotta cheese mixture over the pasta. Add the remaining sausage and sauce. Cover the top of the dish with the grated Parmigiano and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until heated through and top is lightly browned.

Serves 4.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 large bundle broccoli rabe, about 1 1/2 pounds
• Salt
• 1 pound bulk Italian hot or sweet sausage
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Trim ends of the broccoli rabe and cut into 3-inch pieces.

Bring 2 inches water to a boil in a high sided skillet. Salt the water. Add the broccoli rabe and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, drain. Return skillet to the stove, add sausage and garlic, brown and crumble 6 to 7 minutes. Add the broccoli rabe, stir to combine, and cook another 2 minutes.

Serves 4.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray.

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 1/4 cups chicken stock, or more depending on thickness of soup
• 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup rice
• 3/4 pound sausage, cut into 1/4-inch
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Season the squash with 1 tablespoon of the oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Remove from the oven and cool completely. In a blender or food processor, puree the squash with just enough chicken stock to make it smooth, about 1 cup. Puree until smooth and set aside.

In a saucepan, over medium heat, bring 2 1/4 cups of the stock (or amount of liquid suggested on package) and 1/2 cup of the chopped onions to a simmer. Stir in the rice, cover, and cook over low heat until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes. Remove the rice from the pan and cool.

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, add the remaining tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the sausage and brown for 3 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of onions and corn. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes. Add the remaining 3 cups of stock and squash puree. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Stir in the rice and continue to cook for 10 minutes. More chicken stock can be added if the soup is too thick at this point. Remove from the heat, and reason with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Serves 6 people.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

Recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse.

Updated Recipe

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
• 4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• 4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
• Romano or Parmigiano, for grating as a garnish

Directions:

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.

Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Serves 4.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

I used broken up sausage links with the casing removed. Excellent served with Spinach Salad with Apples and Red Onion.

Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

Read my review of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) chicken broth
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 medium carrots, chopped
• 10 ounces kielbasa, sliced
• 1 large potato, diced
• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 large zucchini, halved and sliced
• 4 strips bacon, fried and crumbled (optional)
• Water, salt, and pepper, as needed

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a large soup pot and cook over low heat for about one hour, or until tender.

Serves 4-6 people.

Nutrition:

Substitutions:

I omitted the bacon from the recipe. I added about 2 cups of water.

Recipe courtesy of Steve Shoemaker.