Fusilli with Pumpkin and Sausage

Fusilli with pumpkin and sausage is a quick and easy recipe that is perfect for cooler weather weeknights! Just be sure to use the best quality ingredients.

For 8 years now, I’ve been saying the same thing, “Use the best quality ingredients you can find.” I’ll be saying the same thing for the next 8 years, and the next 16 years!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

That won’t change on my end, but have you been making any changes in your kitchen? I’m constantly on the hunt for the best ingredients I can use.

Years ago I wrote a post about a few ingredients that I feel (yes, it’s my opinion) no one should have in their kitchen. You’ll find my list of what should not be in anyone’s kitchen here.

One of my biggest soap box rants was about tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Oh yes, I really had my biggest vent online when I saw a horrible “recipe” for pasta sauce and almost had a heart attack. I followed that post with my Italian family’s recipe for a super quick and easy tomato sauce that’s ready before the pasta is.

The most critical ingredient in tomato sauce is definitely the tomatoes. If you use less than stellar tomatoes, you will end up with a less than stellar sauce, and no one likes that.

Use Quality Canned Tomatoes from Italy

Besides being the tomatoes that my ancestors and family have always used, the nutrition and quality is excellent, not just the flavor. From the GTFE website–

     “Tomatoes are naturally low in sugars and fats but rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, minerals, fibres and antioxidants like lycopene, making them a concentrated burst of beneficial substances.”

However, certain tomatoes have more nutrients than others depending on the soil where they are grown. Did you know that?

ANICAV (as best as I can translate into English, the National Association of Industrial Preservation of Vegetable Products”) came into being on August 18th, 1945 to protect the interests and well being of companies that were producing vegetable products during wartime. 

     “ANICAV was one of the first associations to draw up a handbook of good hygiene practices for the production of canned tomatoes, approved by the Italian Ministry of Health, to help tomato-processing companies in preparing their HACCP manuals.”

Many times, canned tomatoes are better quality than using fresh when they are out of season. I can’t possibly outline all the information about European tomatoes in one post, so stay tuned for much more. I hope you’ll be interested in the history and background of these top notch tomatoes as well as discovering how they are grown, harvested and processed. 

A few quality brands that I love are the following:

Fontanella
La Valle
Mutti
Ciao
Rega

*Note: Cento says “certified” on their labels, but certified what, and by whom? I avoid this brand due to legal troubles and questionable labeling on their products.

CHECK OUT MY LIST OF CANNED TOMATO RECIPES TO CURE THE “WHAT’S FOR DINNER? – DILEMMA”

In the meantime, enjoy this recipe which I slightly adapted from The Greatest Tomatoes from Europe’s site. This fusilli with pumpkin and sausage dish is one you can make in just over half an hour and the whole family will love it–I did!

Check out my post from when I was able to visit the Ciao Tomato Factory
in Southern Italy. 

Fusilli with Pumpkin and Sausage

recipe slightly adapted from The Greatest Tomatoes from Europe       serves 5

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

• extra-virgin olive oil
• garlic cloves
• fresh pumpkin
• Italian sausages (mild or spicy)
• whole tomatoes 
• Kosher or sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• parsley, as a garnish if desired
• Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino cheese DOP
• Fusilli pasta or any other short shape you desire

Make the Pasta Sauce

Add the peeled and smashed garlic (hit it with the flat side of a knife) to a frying pan with the extra virgin olive oil, then add the diced pumpkin and skinned sausages.

Use a wooden spoon to chop the sausage into small pieces as it cooks.

Let them brown for about 5 minutes and then add salt, black pepper, and the chopped or puréed tomatoes, and the water, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Taste, and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Cook the Fusilli

Cook the pasta in large pot with a plentiful amount of salted water. You can start the pasta cooking when the sauce has about 10 minutes left to save time.

Combine and Serve the Fusilli with Pumpkin and Sausage

When the pasta is al dente (still a little hard when you bit into it) drain with a slotted spoon and add directly to the frying pan with the sauce.

Toss the pasta with the sauce and serve immediately. You can sprinkle some chopped parsley and Parmigiano or Pecorino cheese, if you desire.

Fusilli with pumpkin and sausage is delicious and nutritious!

Buon appetito!

Continue to Content

Fusilli with Pumpkin and Sausage

Yield: 5 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

A quick and easy pasta dish with pumpkin, sausage and tomatoes that is as delicious as it is nutritious.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 cups (200 g) pumpkin, cubed (1/4" just a big bigger than 1/2 cm)
• 2 to 3 Italian sausages (mild or spicy)
• 8 oz whole or chopped tomatoes or tomato puree (good quality from Europe)
• 4 to 6 oz water
• Kosher or sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• chopped parsley as a garnish if desired
• shaved Parmigiano or Pecorino cheese, if desired
• 1 lb fusilli (good quality brand) or any short shape you desire

Instructions

Make the sauce

1. Add the peeled and smashed garlic (hit it with the flat side of a knife) to a frying pan with the extra virgin olive oil, then add the diced pumpkin and skinned sausages.
2. Use a wooden spoon to chop the sausage into small pieces as it cooks.
3. Let them brown for about 5 minutes and then add salt, black pepper, and the chopped tomatoes, and the water, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. Taste, and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Cook the fusilli

1. Cook the pasta in large pot with a plentiful amount of salted water. You can start the pasta cooking when the sauce has about 10 minutes left to save time.

Combine and serve.

1. When the pasta is al dente (still a little hard when you bit into it) drain with a slotted spoon and add directly to the frying pan with the sauce.
2. Toss the pasta with the sauce and serve immediately. You can sprinkle some chopped parsley and Parmigiano or Pecorino cheese, if you desire.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 340Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 916mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 17g

Nutrition information is estimated.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a review by clicking on the 5 stars above, in the purple header (a form will appear) or tag me on Instagram! 😍

Want more canned tomato recipes? Just click here -> List of Delicious Canned Tomato Recipes.

Christina’s Cucina is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.