Pumpkin Sausage Manicotti

I'm Italian on my father's side. And my Nana is the stereotypical Italian grandmother. Whether is be a high holiday or just a regular ol' Tuesday, there was always a huge spread of food when sitting down to a family dinner.

Pounds of gnocchi. A bowl full of meatballs. Sausage and peppers. A loaf of crusty bread. But one of the dish I always found to be special - her manicotti. Manicotti is nothing more than a savory crepe filled, smothered in sauce and baked much like a lasagna.

Nana's kept it simple with a basic ricotta cheese filling and homemade "gravy" (aka marinara sauce for those non-Italians out there). Her little trick - a sprinkle of cinnamon. Weird, right? Wrong! A little pinch of cinnamon brings out the inherent sweetness of the ricotta cheese and amps up the complexity the dish.

So I took this little secret and ran with it. I figured why not lean into a few other Fall flavors. Instead of marinara, I whipped up a creamy pumpkin bechamel to ladle over sausage, spinach and cheese manicotti. And I'm so glad I did. It's Fall comfort food on a fork.

Pumpkin Sausage Manicotti

Ingredients

For the crepes

· 1 ¼ cup flour

· 2 tsp sugar

· ¼ tsp salt

· 1 ½ cups milk

· 2 large eggs

· 2 tbsp butter, melted & cooled

· 2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the filling

· 2 tbsp olive oil

· 1lb bulk Italian sausage

· 1 onion, diced

· 4 cloves garlic, minced

· ¼ tsp crushed red pepper

· 4 cup fresh spinach, chopped

· 1 cup ricotta cheese

· ¾ cup pecorino cheese, grated

· 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

· ½ tsp salt

· ½ tsp pepper

For the pumpkin béchamel

· 3 tbsp butter

· 3 tbsp flour

· 2 cups milk

· 1 cup chicken stock

· 1 cup pumpkin puree

· ½ tsp salt

· ½ tsp black pepper

· 2 tsp dried sage

· 1 tsp garlic powder

· ¾ tsp cinnamon

· 1/8 tsp nutmeg, grated

· ½ cup pecorino cheese, grated

For the manicotti

· ¼ cup pumpkin puree

· 2 tbsp pecorino cheese, grated

· Torn basil

For the crepes, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. In a large measuring cup, whisk together milk, eggs and cooled butter. Slowly whisk the milk into the flour bowl. Whisk until smooth. Stir in extracts. Batter should be very thin and smooth. Add a tablespoon or so of milk if needing to thin the batter. Pour the batter through a mesh sieve into a large measuring cup.

Heat a small 8 inch pan over medium low heat. Grease lightly with non-stick spray. Pour 1/3 cup of the crepe batter into the pan. Quickly rotate the pan around to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. When the edges begin to pull away from the pan, flip the crepe and cook for another 20 seconds. Remove the crepe from the pan onto a large plate. Repeat with the remaining crepe batter. Keep the crepes warm under a clean dish cloth.

For the filling…heat olive oil in the bottom of a large pan. Finely crumble and brown the sausage over medium high heat. Once cooked through, reduce the heat to medium low and sautee the onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Season with crushed red pepper. Add the spinach. Continue to sautee until the spinach completely wilts and releases its moisture. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the sausage and spinach mixture with the ricotta and pecorino cheeses. Add the basil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

For the béchamel… melt the butter over low heat in a sauce pan. Whisk in the flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the flour begins to brown. While whisking, slowly stir in the milk and chicken stock. Continue to whisk until smooth. Raise the temperature to medium low and bring to a simmer. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Stir in the pumpkin, spices and cheese. Continue to cook until sauce is thick – it should coat the back of a spoon.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Pour 1-1 ½ cups of the béchamel into a grease baking dish.

Spoon about an 1/8th of the sausage mixture into the center of a crepe. Roll the crepe around the filling like an enchilada. Place the manicotti seam-side down in the sauce in the pan. Repeat with the remaining crepes and filling. Ladle over the remaining béchamel.

Dot the top of the manicotti with small spoons of the pumpkin puree. Swirl the pumpkin into the béchamel with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle over the pecorino. Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Garnish with torn basil.

Serves 4

Notes

For a more traditional manicotti, substitute the pumpkin béchamel for your favorite marinara.

I know ordinarily you find the pasta "Manicotti" tubes in the grocery store. Resist the urge to reach for this box. It's simply not Manicotti. The delicate crepes set this apart from all other stuffed pastas making Manicotti a truly unique dish.

Gluten Free Friendly!

Substitute flour with Cup4Cup or King Arthur GF flour.