Weeknight Sausage and Pasta

 

Cheff Davies was sampling their chicken sausage at Costco a couple of weeks ago, and I was quickly sold. The three-cheese sausage is flavored with Two Brothers beer, and is delightfully spiced. I had some leftover broccolini in the fridge, and the butternut squash was looking especially enticing at Trader Joe's, so I cobbled together this vegetable-rich pasta dish for dinner tonight. The sweetness of the squash and the bitterness of the broccolini pair nicely with the richness of the sausages.

1 package Cheff Davies three-cheese chicken sausage

1 butternut squash, peeled and diced

1/2 pound broccolini, chopped

1 pound orechiette

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the butternut squash with some olive oil on a cookie sheet, and salt and pepper it. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until it is tender and beginning to caramelize. Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water to boil. Slice the sausage, and brown it in another pan. Boil the pasta for about six minutes, then add the broccolini to the water and boil it together with the pasta for another six minutes. Dump the pasta, broccolini, squash, and sausage into one large serving bowl. Top with the cheese and a couple of ladles of the pasta water. Toss to combine. Serve.