November 2016 – Cooking from Books

About a year ago while waiting for a doctor’s appointment, I saw a recipe on the Rachael Ray show for sausages roasted with butternut squash and pears. Well, after finding the recipe online, I finally got around to making it the other night for a small get together with friends. The colors and aroma of the dish echoed fall.

I made a few changes to the original recipe that included adding shallots and extending the cooking time. I also substituted a package of cut and peeled squash for the recipe’s large butternut squash.

Roasted Sausages with Butternut Squash and Pears (adapted from the Rachael Ray Show)

Ingredients

3 red pears, cored, cut into quarters
1 20-ounce package cut and peeled butternut quash
2 large shallots peeled and quartered
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Salt and pepper
5 sprigs thyme
8 sweet Italian sausages (about 2.5 pounds)
Balsamic vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place pears, butternut squash and onions into a large roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Scatter the sprigs of thyme over top of the vegetables. Place the sausages on top of the vegetables.

Put the roasting pan into the oven and cook for about 35 minutes or until sausages are golden brown. (The original recipe called for 25 minutes of cooking, but I found that both the sausages and the vegetables needed more time to roast. I also turned the sausages after 30 minutes to makes sure they were browned evenly.)

Drizzle the sausages and roasted pears, squash, and shallots with some balsamic vinegar.

Wine Pairing: Zinfandel, Primitivo

My go-to recipe for a simple tomato sauce is Marcella Hazan’s. With only 3 ingredients (plus some salt) and 3 steps, it’s the easiest sauce I know:

One 28-ounce can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed, along with their juices
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, peeled and cut in half length-wise, so the root end keeps the layers together
Salt

1. In a heavy bottomed, non-reactive sauce pan, combine the tomatoes and their juices, the butter, and the onion. Add salt too taste.

2. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing any large pieces of tomatoes with your spoon.

3. Discard the onion; adjust for salt.

You can search the internet for more versions of this recipe, like this one from the New York Times Cooking site.

Hazan’s recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta. Given that I’m usually cooking for two, I often have a half portion of it on hand. Such was the case last night, when after a weekend of red-meat indulgence, I decided to make one of my favorite meatless dishes: penne with tomato and goat-cheese sauce.

Penne with Tomato and Goat-Cheese Sauce

Ingredients
1/2 portion of Marcella Hazan’s tomato onion sauce
2.5 ounces goat cheese or chèvre
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces penne rigate, or any short cut pasta
Freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving

1. In a large skillet slowly bring the tomato sauce to a simmer. When the sauce is warmed through, crumble the cheese into the sauce and still until well blended. Add the crushed red pepper. Be careful not to overdo the pepper flakes, which can overwhelm the flavor of the cheese.

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until one minute before al dente (about 9 minutes). When the pasta is done, drain well and add it to the skillet with the sauce. Toss with sauce over low heat and allow the pasta to finish cooking, about 1 minute.

Before serving, sprinkle with some ground black pepper and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Wine Pairing: Rosso di Montalcino