This is a delicious fall pasta. The original recipe is from a magazine cut out (I have a lot those). I think the magazine was The Pioneer Woman Magazine. It got us to eat our weekly bunch of kale!
Ingredients:
1tbsp olive oil
2-3 Italian sausages removed from casings (I used medium heat)
1/2 medium butternut squash, peeled seeded and and cut in 1/2 ” cubes
1/4 tsp chili powder, plus a pinch extra
Black pepper
1 bunch kale, stems discarded and leaves torn into bite size pieces
Parmesan cheese for serving
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage meat and cook breaking up with a wooden spoon, stirring occasionally until browned.
Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Pour off drippings if there is a lot. You probably need about a tbsp of oil. The sausage I used didn’t leave much dripping so I added a drizzle of olive oil to the pan.
Add the squash and toss to coat with the oil then sprinkle with chili powder, 1/2 tsp salt and a sprinkle of black pepper. Cook stirring occasionally until squash is browning and tender (not mushy or falling apart). I did have to add water to the pan a couple of times because it was browning and getting dry but not getting softer. Add a few tbsp at a time as needed. Once the squash is cooked add to the bowl with the sausage.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve about 2/2-3/4 cup of the pasta water before draining.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet over med-high heat. Add half the kale and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook tossing until wilted. Then add other half and another 1/4 tsp salt and toss to mix and cook until all wilted.
Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan with kale and then add the squash sausage mixture and cooked pasta. Give it a generous sprinkle of black pepper. Cook tossing carefully until heated through.
If it seems dry add the rest of the reserved pasta water.
Serve topped with shaved Parmesan.
This was delicious and the leftovers were really good the next day for lunch. I will definitely be making this one again and I hope you give it a try.
cookswithevie 
Looks yummy. I’ll give it a try. Thank you.
Thanks, I hope you like it!
Still laughing about this recipe getting you to eat your ‘weekly bunch’ of kale… It’s more than a bit of a struggle to eat something that has a texture bordering on rubber and I’ve never found one yet that actually begins to feel appealing. Do you happen to know what kind you used this time? From your photos, it actually looks like it wilted down for you (and sounds delicious: )
I just used the regular curly kale. It does wilt down nicely.
Thank you! It looks like it’s got a lovely bit of pink/burgundy on the stems, that’s why I asked. Have to pay more attention next time I’m in the produce aisle; ). It’ll help keep my mind off of what’s going on around us right now:/
Take care, hey?
I am sure you can use what you have.
Lol, I tried it once a few years ago and the texture was so rubbery/repulsive that I vowed I’d wait until I found a type that was more palatable. Perhaps it was just the wrong time (midsummer of that last bad drought year) and we should give it another go…
To eat it raw as salad you really need to chop/tear it into small bite size pieces and massage it to break up the cell walls. For cooking tear into pieces and it usually wilts down and is palatable. We use kale all the time and my 11 year old daughter likes it. Hope you try it again!
Good to know, thanks for that bit about tearing. I used a knife to chop it last time so maybe it’s was ‘rebelling’ against the rough treatment; )
On the other hand – if it’s not just me – maybe we ought to get some chickens so they can eat the kale (and then we can eat the eggs; )
That sounds like a great idea!
Take care and be safe!
You too! (Also in Ontario, btw: )