Roasted savory sausage and sunset-orange, caramel-y sweet potatoes. Tender pasta. Sharp parmesan. Aromatic garlic. All of these wonderful ingredients come together to make a dish even greater than the sum of its great parts; Southern Autumn Pasta. Yes, Southern Autumn Pasta really does bring together Southern cooking and autumn’s natural flavor cornucopia, and the results? Well, just taste it for yourself!
Ingredients
- 1 pound hot or mild Italian sausage links, casings removed
- 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided, plus more, to taste
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 red onion, slivered
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces rigatoni or a similar medium pasta shape
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
- 1 cup arugula or spinach leaves, packed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Step 2 –On a large rimmed baking sheet, add the sausage and break it apart into large pieces, about 1-inch in size.
Step 3 –In a large bowl, add the sweet potatoes, 1/2 of the olive oil, the basil, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the black pepper and toss to combine.
Step 4 –Add the sweet potato mixture to the baking sheet with the sausage.
Step 5 –Roast the sausage-sweet potato mixture for 10 minutes.
Step 6 –In a large bowl, add the red bell pepper, the onion, the garlic, the remaining olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the black pepper and toss to combine.
Step 7 –Add the bell pepper mixture to the baking sheet and bake until the sweet potatoes are tender and the sausage is cooked through, with the meat reaching an internal temperature of 150 degrees F, about 10-14 minutes.
Step 8 –In a large pot of salted, boiling water, add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package directions.
Step 9 –Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the remainder of the water. Do not rinse the pasta.
Step 10 –Return the pasta to the pot.
Step 11 –Add the roasted sausage-vegetable mixture and any of their accumulated juices to the pasta and stir to combine.
Step 12 –Add 3 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water, the parmesan, the arugula, the lemon zest, and the chili flakes to the pasta mixture and stir to combine. Add more of the pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.
Step 13 –Taste the pasta for seasoning and add the extra salt and the extra pepper as needed.
Step 14 –Serve.
