Take easy spaghetti to the next level with this Homemade Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce, made with roasted butternut squash, shallots, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
One of the best things about fall is the abundance of pumpkins and hardy gourds. Ever wondered why winter squash is called “winter” squash when it first appears in the fall?
Butternut squash is the king of winter squash. The flavor is so good and so consistent that, as far as I know, most of the “canned pumpkins” we use to make pumpkin pie are actually made from a variety of pumpkins that more closely resemble butternut squash than the pumpkins we use for Jack use -o-lanterns.
Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
The fabulous Garrett recently came up with a pint of roasted butternut squash puree and a mission to use it to create a pasta sauce—a butternut squash pasta sauce.
We often find butternut squash in ravioli, so why not include it on the outside for a butternut squash pasta dish?
It just needed to be diluted a little with water, made savory with parmesan and brightened up with a bit of sour cream and parsley.
The resulting butternut squash pasta plate was absolutely delicious, and I ate leftover butternut squash sauce with a spoon right out of the fridge for days.
Pasta with Butternut Squash Parmesan Sauce
This butternut pasta sauce goes well with any pasta, but spaghetti goes especially well with it.
Be careful when you cut the squash, winter squashes are tough! The best way to do this safely is to snip off a little bit from both ends so you can stand the pumpkin upright without it rolling. Then cut in half. Watch how to cut and peel a butternut squash for a better look. Note, however, that for this recipe you don’t want to peel the squash before roasting.
It also helps, if you have a microwave, to microwave the whole squash for a minute before slicing. This will soften the outside of the squash slightly, making it easier to cut.
ingredients
-
1 Butternut Squash about weigh 2 1/2 lb
-
1 lb pasta
-
1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
-
1/3 Cup chopped shallots or onions
-
1/4 cup packedfreshly grated parmesan cheese
-
1/3 Cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
-
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
-
1 tablespoon chopped Parselyfor garnish
-
1 teaspoon Saltmore to taste
-
Pepper, taste
-
water as needed to thin the sauce, approx 1 Cup
method
-
Bake butternut squash:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the guts and seeds and discard (or save and toast the seeds).
Pour 1/4 cup water into a casserole dish and place the butternut squash halves, cut-side down, on top.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the squash. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Scoop out the pumpkin flesh and place in a blender. Discard the skins.
-
Sauté shallots:
Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat until just beginning to brown, about 2-3 minutes.
-
Puree in blender:
Put the shallots in the blender. Add 1 cup water, the Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed. If the sauce is too thick, thin it out with a little more water.
-
Add sour cream and heat until warm:
Pour the sauce into a small saucepan set over low heat. Stir in the sour cream and heat through. Don’t let the sauce boil.
-
Cooking pasta in boiling salted water:
Fill a pot with water and salt (1 tablespoon of salt per 2 liters of water). Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.
-
To mix cooked noodles with sauce:
When the noodles are done, drain and place in a bowl. Mix with some sauce and serve. Add a dollop of extra sauce and some parsley when you bring it to the table.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 427 | calories |
| 7g | Fat |
| 79g | carbohydrates |
| 13g | protein |
