Pumpkin Baked Ziti With Sage and Lavender Sausage
Author: Inspired by Tasty
Ingredients
- 1 pound ziti or rigatoni noodles, cooked to al dente
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- ½ onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 sage leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- pinch of cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon culinary lavender buds
- ½ cup dry white wine (like chardonnay)
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350
- Brown the sausage in a skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat until the fat is rendered and the sausage is no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.
- In the same skillet, add the onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the sage leaves, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, lavender, nutmeg, and salt / pepper to taste. Cook one more minute.
- Add the wine and cook until reduced by half. The heat should remain to medium high. Add the stock and stir in the pumpkin puree. Mix until everything is incorporated. The pumpkin will thicken the sauce.
- Stir in the sausage and transfer to a large bowl with the pasta. Mix until combined.
- Transfer back to your cast iron skillet (or a baking dish) and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 25-35 minutes until bubbly.
- Garnish with sage and parsley. Fried sage is good too! Enjoy this with a nice glass of white wine, preferably the one you used earlier
Lori
Awesome! I’m a vegetarian so I used Field Roast Italian sausage and added olive oil as a drizzle when it was baked for it was too dry without ! Delish!