Creamy Butternut Squash Orzo With Sausage

One Pot of Deliciousness

If you follow my blog then you know I LOVE one-pot recipes. My Dutch oven is my go-to and used time and time again to make soups, stews, and pasta dishes. There’s countless reasons why one pot recipes are superior in my mind. For starters, I believe that one-pot recipes are able to reach a deeper flavor profile. Instead of cooking the meat in one pan and the pasta in another, all the ingredients are able to cook together to reach a richer level.

Next, the clean up! Because I cook every day, I gravitate towards recipes that make the back-end of cooking a breeze. The less dishes I can use the better! This recipe also doesn’t dirty many dishes on the front-end either. All you need is a cutting board, measuring cup, and measuring spoons.

Finally, there’s something very family oriented to me about serving dinner from just one pot. Everyone can serve themselves and enjoy dinner together. While this may just be my opinion, I like to believe it’s true. Anyways, this recipe is a must try for countless reasons.

Getting Started

Start by adding olive oil and half a diced white onion to your pot or Dutch oven. Sweat the onion for about five minutes until it’s translucent, then add the garlic. Cook the garlic down for two minutes until fragrant. Next, add one pound of ground sausage. I liked the mild sausage for this recipe but you can use whatever sausage you would like. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the sausage until its crumbled. Then, season with minced oregano, sage, red pepper flakes, pepper and salt. The fresh oregano and sage really bring out the flavors of the sausage and pair nicely with the butternut squash we’ll be using later.

Once the sausage begins to brown, add the chicken broth and one can of coconut milk. I like to use coconut milk here instead of cream because the dish is already very savory and rich. Adding cream would weigh down the dish and make it a little too heavy. The coconut milk is light and provides similar flavors of the cream without the richness of it. Stir to combine the ingredients, then bring to a boil. Then liquid may start to turn a brown-ish color. That’s okay, it’s just from the ingredients combining.

Once boiling, add the gluten-free orzo. I love to use this orzo: gluten-free orzo from Delallo. It’s a wheat-free alternative to orzo pasta. Not only does it hold well but it also tastes amazing. Once the orzo is in the pot, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid. Allow it to simmer for roughly 10-15 minutes. Then, remove the lid and stir to combine for 5-10 minutes until the orzo has almost tripled in size. Finally, drain any remaining liquid.

The Butternut Squash

This recipe calls for cooked and pureed butternut squash. There’s a few different options to obtain the end result…

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel one butternut squash, then cut into bite sized pieces. Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place the squash on a prepared baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes. Once cooked, add to a food processor and puree until smooth.
• Repeat this process but buy store-bought peeled and cut butternut squash pieces instead. This will save you roughly 10 minutes.
• You can also purchase pureed butternut squash from the store. This is the easiest option.

Whatever way you choose, make sure your squash is thoroughly pureed with no added dairy. Add the pureed squash to the orzo pasta and stir to combine. To ensure the butternut squash is evenly distributed, use a spatula to fold over multiple times.

Then, finish the dish by adding freshly grated parmesan cheese! Once the cheese is folded in, remove the dish from heat and serve warm.

The Toppings

We’re going to finish this recipe by topping it with red pepper flakes, goat cheese and fried sage leaves. The red pepper flakes pair really nicely with the sausage and bring out any heat. The goat cheese, milds the dish and adds a touch of tang thats works nicely with our creamy orzo. Finally, the sage leaves are cooked in butter for roughly 7 minutes on medium-low heat. The end result is a brown butter sage leaf that crumbles with one touch.