Pumpkin Miso Pasta with Brussels & Sausage
Pumpkin Miso Pasta with Brussels & Sausage
Plus a short recap of my colorful wedding!
Colorful chefs - new and old, welcome!!
I got married last weekend and it was simply the best weekend of my entire life. I’m still synthesizing it all and also in full on recovery mode. My best friend Christina’s Oura data showed that she walked 22 miles on our wedding day…and we did not do any walking so that gives you a sense of the vibes on the dance floor. 🤣💃🏼
You may have seen some from the wedding on Instagram, my feed is now a combination of colorful foods + colorful wedding recaps! Alex somehow incorporated 3 of the Cooking in Color principles into his vows (Colorful, Quality Ingredients, and a Lil Zhuzh), and thank goodness he promised to be my dishwasher for life. Our incredible officiant Kelsey used the Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat framework as a recipe for a successful marriage. It was all just beyond and also hilariously on brand.
I feel so lucky to have been able to start my wedding day with a yoga class, meditation and sound bath by my dear friend Kristina Welsh, work with 10+ brands that I love and am aligned with throughout the weekend, co-create a colorful healthy taco bar for the day after beach party with my favorite LA chef Ali Lafayette , and somehow convince 70+ people to run into the ocean with Alex and I. After I recover (I’ve caught a cold) I’ll share the beach party recipes and some of the other things we did to incorporate our values of health, joy, and connection into the weekend.
But now, let’s get to the recipe of the week! This recipe is below, up for free on my website, and also on the Color Club. For those of you who have been having trouble paying for the annual Color Club membership, I am SO SORRY and thank you SO much for your patience. I’ll be sending out an update soon. I’m working with my developer and Squarespace to resolve the bug and it’s a particularly buggy (technical term 🙃) issue. I was not able to troubleshoot during my wedding weekend so thank you so so much for your patience as we get it all fixed!🤞🏼
Pumpkin season is not just about pumpkin desserts! I love this dish because it’s sweet, savory, and has a little umami and saltiness from the miso. I love pairing this with a slightly sweet sausage like Applegate’s Organic Chicken and Apple Sausage and using Brussels sprouts because they are perfect little vessels for wiping up SAUCE.
The other reason why I LOVE this dish is the swap from a conventional refined grain pasta, to a nutrient-dense, lupin pasta. WTF is a lupin? It’s a nutrient-dense legume related to chickpeas and lentils. It’s also low carb, high protein, and packed with fiber. I’ve tried all of the alternative pastas and brands on the market, and Chefs Kiss is my favorite not only because it’s blood sugar friendly, but the texture is incredible. It’s firm and not mushy. One of my pro tips to keep it from getting mushy or overcooked is to run the pasta under cold water in the strainer for 30 seconds right after you strain it. That stops the cooking process and helps keep it firm.
Because I’ve been organically sharing about Chef’s Kiss for some time now, their lovely team gave me a code! You can use code SONJA at checkout for 20% off. I love both the low-carb and the protein pasta options, but the best choice for blood sugar balance are the low-carb rotini and low-carb spaghetti options.
I’ve also met both of the Chef’s Kiss founders in-person at Expo West last year, and they are incredible humans, who prioritize sourcing and working with regenerative farms. I love this pasta so much I sent a box to every one of my bridesladies last year when I asked them to be part of the wedding weekend.
Okay enough, let’s cook!
Makes ~4 servings
Takes about 35-45 minutes
What You’ll Need
Large sauce pan or stir fry pan - I love my 4.5qt Saute Pan from Caraway - not sponsored (yet lol - hi Caraway), I really truly love this pan
Baking sheet - I also use Caraway
Small stock pot for the pasta - I use an all-clad stainless steel pot I’ve had for years
Boos Block cutting board - on sale right now for prime day!!
Chefs knife
Strainer
Measuring cups and spoons
Mixing spoon
Ingredients
Listed in order of how you’ll use them!
Brussels sprouts (or any other veggie you want to roast!)
1 box of Chefs Kiss pasta (code SONJA for 20% off)
Chicken sausage (however much you’d like!) - I used one packet/4 sausages of Applegate Chicken and Apple Sausage
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cup of pumpkin puree (or ~1/2 of a can if you want to just eyeball it)
Note: Make sure it’s just pure pumpkin, no added sugars or seasonings!
3 tbsp white miso paste
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Note: Add more or less pending your spice preference, taste and adjust at the end
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup of the pasta water
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 tsp salt, more as needed
Instructions
COOK BRUSSELS AND PASTA
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut the Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise through the stem. Toss in a little avocado or olive oil, and salt and pepper. Arrange them on a baking sheet flat side down. Roast for 15-20 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until it’s al dante. For Chef’s Kiss pasta, that’s only about 4 minutes! Before you strain the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water for later.
PREPARE SAUCE
While the pasta is boiling, bring a skillet to medium heat. Add a little olive or avocado oil and the chopped chicken sausage. If using pre-cooked, just sear on each side. If cooking your sausage, saute until it’s cooked through. Remove from pan.
Add a little more olive oil, and the garlic and fennel seeds to the same pan on medium heat, and saute for 1-2 minutes. Then add pumpkin, miso paste, nutritional yeast, and red pepper flakes to the pan. Mix the ingredients together.
About 1/4 cup at a time, gradually add the coconut milk to the pan, stirring constantly so that all of the ingredients come together. Cook this mixture on the stove for about 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add a pinch of salt. Once the sauce starts to thicken, turn down the heat to a simmer.
Next, add in 1/2 of the strained pasta water to the sauce to thin it out a little, it should be smooth and glossy.
MIX IT ALL TOGETHER AND SERVE
Then add in the chicken sausage and Brussels sprouts. If needed, add the other 1/2 cup of pasta water as you mix everything together. Lastly, mix in the pasta.
Top with diced sage, flakey sea salt, and serve warm!
Does anyone else let their pet join family dinner time like this? 😹
Swaps and Tips
Brussels for any veggie: Swap out the Brussels for broccoli, carrots, really ANY vegetable you have on hand.
No fresh sage?: Use dried sage, or oregano can be a good substitute for sage but it can be more potent so add a little, taste test, and then add a little more!
Vegetarian or vegan?: Leave out the chicken sausage! The sauce is already vegan!
Reel
Nutritional Info
I really advocate for NOT counting calories and instead focus on getting enough protein, fiber, and a variety of micronutrients. It’s liberating to think in terms of “how much protein, fiber, and color can I get in each meal” vs. “how many calories was this meal.”
For me, I aim for .75g per pound of body weight per day (read more about how much protein you need here) this ends up being about 30-40g per meal.
I aim for 50g of fiber a day (read more about why in Good Energy or this paper in Cell)
I think of micronutrients as my COLORS and I try to eat at a minimum, 10 colors per day, and 30-40 colors per week (paper on microbiome benefits of eating 30+ plants a week). This recipe has got 5 colors, so I’m halfway to my daily color goal!
This is calculated with 1 box of Chef’s Kiss pasta which has 20g protein and 19g of fiber per serving. It will vary if you use a different type of pasta.
Per serving, makes ~4 servings
Calories: 620
Carbohydrates: 35g
Fiber: 28g
Net carbs: 7g
Protein: 33g
Fat: 31g
Sodium: 1866mg
Sugar: 7g
If you make this recipe (or ANY of my recipes!), I’d LOVE to hear how it turned out and any feedback you have! Give me your notes - big and small.
Chefs kisses,
Sonja
This sauce was fantastic!
There’s so much right with this. 🙏