venison sausage ring
Steve sold his wood chipper today. And the guy he sold it to brought us a ring of venison sausage. That happens where you live, doesn’t it?
I needed a quick dinner, and was going to just thaw some shrimp and pesto and do a quick pasta. But Steve wanted vegetables. So I put in the effort to peel the second half of a squash I had left from the miso-sake squash I made last week. A quick search found a pasta dish to use both.
The sausage was supposed to be cut from its casing, which I did, but it was mighty firm even without the casing. I only used half, as you can see, and gave it some extra chopping. It was stamped “spicy maple venison sausage ring.” Neither the maple nor the spice was too strong, and it worked perfectly with the squash and some sage. It was delicious! (The photo is before it was topped with lots of grated Parmesan.)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound peeled butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups) (I used kabocha)
Salt
1 onion, diced
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
12 ounces farfalle
1/2 cup freshly ground Pecorino Romano
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley (I used dried sage)
- n a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the squash, season lightly with salt and cook over high heat, stirring, until tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes (I actually boiled the squash for 3 minutes first in the pasta water, then browned it in the oil until tender). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the squash to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add the onion and sausage and cook over high heat, breaking up the sausage with a spoon, until lightly browned and cooked through. Return the squash to the skillet.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the skillet along with the reserved cooking water and the cheese and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the sauce is thick and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the pasta to a bowl, sprinkle with the parsley and serve right away.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/farfalle-with-spicy-sausage-and-butternut-squash/
Looks delicious! Oddly enough we helped our cousin, William O’D, move some furniture and he gave us…wait for it…venison. Can’t wait to try the recipe.