We often use pennette when we make this dish, but any small shaped pasta will do—try orecchiette, creste di galli (cockscombs), Pastificio Faella’s lumachine (small snails), Benedetto Cavalieri’s ruote pazze (crazy wheels), or any similar quirky shape. This is a particularly good treatment for whole wheat pasta, with the flavors of sweet squash, spicy sausage, and nutty wheat all marrying nicely together.
For the squash, see our suggestions here. Chop the trimmed squash coarsely and don’t worry if the pieces are not equal. Part of the charm of the dish comes from some pieces disintegrating almost into a puree while others stay a little firm to the bite.
We use pure pork sausages with nothing but salt and aromatics added—whether sweet or hot is up to your taste. Consider adding a pinch of ground red chili peppers and some wild fennel pollen, if available, or crushed fennel seeds to emphasize the season.
SERVES 6
10 to 12 sage leaves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup finely chopped red or yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 Italian-style sausages, sweet, fennel, or spicy (about ½ pound)
2 teaspoons fennel pollen or crushed fennel seeds (optional)
Pinch ground or flaked red chili pepper (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4½ to 5 cups coarsely chopped firm orange-fleshed squash (see headnote)
About 1 pound (500 grams) pasta (see headnote)
⅓ cup parmigiano-reggiano, plus more to pass
½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Set aside 4 or 5 of the largest sage leaves to crisp in oil and use for a garnish. Chop the rest to make 1 or 2 tablespoons chopped sage.
In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic. Remove the sausage meat from its casings and as soon as the vegetables start to sizzle, crumble the ground sausage in. Let the sausage meat cook briefly, tossing and stirring it, until it has rendered out its fat. When it just stops being pink, stir in the chopped sage. If using fennel pollen and/or chili pepper, add them now.
Bring a large pot of abundantly salted water to a rolling boil.
Add the chopped squash to the sausage in the saucepan and turn up the heat to medium-high. Cook briskly until the squash is soft, cooked through, and some pieces are beginning to disintegrate. Keep the sauce just simmering over low heat while the pasta cooks.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a small saucepan over high heat and add the reserved whole sage leaves. Sauté, turning, until the leaves are crisp, then remove to a paper towel to drain.
When the pasta water is boiling vigorously, add the pasta and cook following the directions here. When the pasta is al dente, stir a ladleful of pasta water into the sausage-squash sauce. Drain the pasta and turn it into a warm serving bowl. Add the sauce, along with the grated parmigiano, and toss. Garnish with chopped parsley and finally with the crisp-fried sage leaves. Serve immediately, passing more grated cheese at the table.