Gemelli with Turkey Italian Sausage and Roasted Vegetables in a Parmesan Cream Sauce

My mother in law Fran and her husband Bud came to our house for a quick visit and dinner before they headed home to Idaho. I thought pasta with roasted veggies and turkey Italian sausage would be a nice dinner. I always crave roasted vegetables (thankfully, I can still do them in the summer thanks to my A/C). We gave Bud the option of plain or creamy pasta and he chose creamy. Since I don't have much experience with cream sauces, my mother in law made it and it turned out so tasty. This pasta was a huge hit with everyone. The veggies and sausage were delicious and the creamy Parmesan sauce tied the whole dish together really nicely. We enjoyed this meal with my House Salad and freshly baked bread. We wish Fran and Bud could have stayed longer but we are very grateful they stopped by on their way home from Washington.

Gemelli with Turkey Italian Sausage and Roasted Vegetables in a Parmesan Cream Sauce:

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net

Cream sauce made by Fran Turner

• Olive oil
• 10 spears of asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into thirds
• 1 yellow squash, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 8 oz button mushrooms, quartered
• 1 small red onion, quartered
• 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
• 5-6 cloves of garlic (keep skins on for roasting)
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Turkey Italian sausage
• 1 lb gemelli pasta
• Fresh basil, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil (for easy clean up) then coat with cooking spray. Place the onions, mushrooms, bell pepper and garlic (keep the skins on so they don't burn while roasting) on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.

While the veggies are roasting. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil a skillet over medium heat. Remove the turkey sausage from the casings and cook, making sure to break up the sausage into crumbles.

After the veggies have roasted for 20 minutes, place the asparagus, yellow squash and zucchini on the baking sheet, drizzle with a bit more oil and re-season with a bit more salt and pepper. Roast for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Once the garlic has cooled, carefully remove the skins and slice then return to the rest of the veggies.

After you add the remaining veggies to roast, start cooking the pasta per instructions and make the cream sauce.

Fran's Parmesan Cream Sauce:

• 12 oz of low fat evaporated milk
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup of finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp fresh nutmeg, grated (thanks Cheryl for giving this to me)
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 2-3 tbsp cornstarch mixed with some milk (not pictured)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the evaporated milk, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, sea salt and pepper, to taste. Stir constantly until cheese is melted. Taste and re-season or add more cheese, if desired. Combine the cornstarch with a bit of milk and mix thoroughly. Once the sauce starts to boil, add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce and stir until well combined and the sauce has thickened.

Mix the cooked and drained pasta with the roasted veggies, turkey Italian sausage, fresh basil and cream sauce. Mix gently until evenly coated with sauce and serve. Enjoy.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - For the Love of Cooking.net