Pasta with Spicy Sausage, Baby Spinach and Creamy Butternut Squash Sauce

By dhoffmanlatter

Ingredients

• 11 oz (4 links) spicy chicken Italian sausage
• 1 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 10 oz dry pasta
• 1/4 cup shallots, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh shaved parmesan cheese
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add butternut squash and cook until soft. Remove squash with a slotted spoon and place in a blender, blend until smooth.
Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions for al dente, reserving at least 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
Meanwhile, in a large deep non-stick skillet, sauté sausage over medium heat until browned, breaking up with a spoon as it cooks. When cooked through, set aside on a plate.
Reduce heat to medium-low and melt the butter, sauté the shallots and garlic until soft and golden. Add pureed butternut squash, season with with salt and fresh cracked pepper and add a little of the reserved pasta water (I used about 1 cup) to thin out the sauce to your liking. Add baby spinach and stir in parmesan cheese and sage.
Toss in cooked pasta and sausage and mix until well coated.