Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Butternut squash pasta

I must say that this is one of the best pasta dishes we've had. I took 2 recipes and changed things up a bit to make a butternut squash pasta. It had a very nice sweet taste to it.

olive oil
1 cup sweet onions (I used a maui onion)
5 cloves of fresh minced or chopped garlic
1/2 chopped celery leaves directly from the stalks
1 butternut squash
1 cup of brown sugar
a few dashes of white wine
1 cup of chicken broth
1 1/2 tsps of fresh or dried basil
1/2 log of goat cheese
desired amount of spinach pasta
desired amount of shredded Parmesan cheese.

Chop or mince the garlic cloves.

Chop the onions.

Place the butternut squash in the microwave and cook on high for three minutes. This will soften the squash making it easier to peel and cut. Some people use a vegetable peeler, we just cut it like you would a pineapple. Don't forget to scoop out the seeds. When you are cutting it you want to get to the squash that is more orange in color. I cut the squash up into tiny bite size pieces so that it would cook faster.

Place the butternut squash in a bowl and coat with the brown sugar.

In a large pan, boil your water for your pasta. You can use any type of pasta you'd like. I just used the spinach pasta for the color and that's what we had left. Once the water is boiling, follow the directions for cooking time on the pasta box or package.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil until hot and add onions. Cook over medium high heat, until the onions are soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).

Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, just until the garlic is releasing it’s flavor, but don’t brown (it can make it bitter). If you are using the white wine, add at this point (cook for about 30 seconds to a minute).

Add the butternut squash, the basil, the celery leaves, and the chicken broth. Cover, bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the squash is fork tender.

Once the squash is tender add the hot pasta and goat cheese. Cook until goat cheese is mixed in. If desired, topped with shredded cheese, and serve!


Here's a slightly different recipe if you want to roast the butternut squash. I thought it worked easier doing it in the work though.

Ingredients

•1 butternut squash weighing about 2 1/2 pounds
•1 pound pasta
•1 tablespoon of olive oil
•1/3 cup of chopped shallots or onions
•1/4 cup of packed, freshly grated Parmesan cheese
•1/3 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
•1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
•1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, for garnish
•Salt and pepper to taste
•Water as needed to thin the sauce, about 1 cup


Method

1 Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the butternut squash lengthwise in half* and scoop out the guts and seeds and discard them (or save the seeds and toast them). Pour 1/4 cup of water into a pyrex or ceramic baking dish and place the butternut squash halves cut side down. Bake for 40 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the squash. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Scoop out the squash flesh from the skins and put into a blender. Discard the skins.

2 Saute the onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat in a small skillet until just beginning to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add the onions to the blender. Add 1 cup water, the parmesan, 2 teaspoons salt and nutmeg and puree. If you need a little more water, add it. Pour the sauce into a small pot set over low heat. Mix in the sour cream and warm it through. Do not let the sauce boil.

3 Fill a pot with water and salt (1 tablespoon of salt for every 2 quarts of water). Set over high heat to bring to a hard boil. Add the pasta and cook at a hard boil, uncovered until al dente. When the pasta is ready, drain and put it into a bowl. Mix with a little of the sauce and serve. Add a dollop of additional sauce and some parsley right when you bring it to the table.
*Be careful when you cut the squash, winter squash are hard! The best way to do it safely is to slice a bit off of both ends so that you can stand the squash upright without it rolling. Then cut down the middle. See how to cut and peel a butternut squash for visuals, though note for this recipe you do not want to peel the squash before roasting.
Yield: Serves 4-6.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pasta_with_butternut_parmesan_sauce/

 

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