Rigatoni with sausage, butternut squash and kale

It’s getting really cold here and I am seeking a warm, comforting dish. Pasta, sausage and a heavy cream sauce always seem to warm my soul. To keep things a bit more healthy, this dish includes butternut squash and the super-hero veggie, kale. For tonight, I am using white pasta; whole wheat is obviously a better choice but the whole wheat doesn’t compliment the creamy sauce as well and since this is a once in rare while treat, I decided to go all out! If you want to make this dish, a lot--go for whole wheat or half whole/half white.
This recipe was adapted from Lauren Deen and “Kitchen Playdates”.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Kale and Butternut Squash

1 lb. mild Italian bulk sausage (if you don’t have bulk, remove castings from sausage)
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed in 1/2 in chunks
3 tbs olive oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed
8 sprigs fresh thyme
1 large bunch kale, torn into bite size pieces (tough stems removed)
2 c half and half (original recipe calls for heavy whipping cream)
1 1/2 c Pecorino Romano, shredded (Southern Italy's parmesan--a bit milder)
Few handfuls of Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 lb. rigatoni
salt and pepper

First preheat oven to 400 degrees and heat a large pot of salted water for the pasta.
Place butternuts quash and three garlic cloves in a large baking pan (think lasagna pan). Coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place sprigs of thyme on squash. Put in the oven.

On stove, cook sausage in a touch of olive oil until no longer pink. When done, drain in sink and run water over sausage until water under sausage runs clear (this takes out excess fat without removing flavor). Add the kale and remaining garlic to the pan (don’t clean out the sausage remains--the oil add flavor). Cook until kale wilts. Combine sausage and kale in large bowl; remove garlic.

At this point, the water should be ready for the pasta. Add it and cook for two minutes less than the required cooking time.

Check on the squash. You want it to be soft*. Once it is soft (this could take almost thirty minutes), take out of the oven and reduce heat to 375. Now remove the sprigs of thyme (letting the leaves stay on the squash or scraping them off the twig) and garlic. Add sausage and kale mixture to the pan. Add the cream and milk. Mix and add the pasta and 1 cup of the cheese.

Once mixed well, top with the remaining cheese and panko. If you have a while until dinner, let the dish hit room temperature and store covered with foil in the refrigerator for no more than 24 hours.

If ready, cover with foil and cook in the oven for 25 minutes. Take off foil and cook an additional 5-10 minutes (until topping is crispy).

Let sit five minutes before serving.

* It’s OK if it gets mushy, some of the squash will simply blend with cheese and adhere directly to the pasta (great if you have a kid that won’t touch veggies!)