Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Crispy Sage Recipe

Try this delicious Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Crispy Sage recipe! A creamy, flavorful dish made with roasted butternut squash, shallots, and sage.

A cozy pasta dinner always sounds good after a long week and this Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Crispy Sage Recipe makes you feel like someone’s giving you a big hug.  I roasted the butternut squash a day before and then placed it in the refrigerator to use on a later evening, however you can roast the squash the same day or evening.  Roasting a butternut squash gives it a sweetness that’s gorgeous when pureed into a sauce and combined with thin spaghetti, or other long strand pasta.

Adding fresh sage leaves to the pan in a little bit of oil creates a crispy leaves in a matter of a couple minutes and become the topping to the Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta.  Shallots are added to the oil remaining in the pan with some dry herbs to enhance the flavors, before adding butternut squash puree — a mouthwatering combination that’s truly simple and delicious.

The puree is very thick until pasta water and a tad of milk are added to help thin the sauce, so the noodles coat beautifully.  Feel free to thin the sauce to your preference or you can always add more cooked pasta, and create a larger meal.

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Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash, roasted, about 2 1/2 cups

1 pound thin spaghetti or other long strand pasta

12 sage leaves

1 large shallot, minced

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons salt + more for water for pasta

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

olive oil for cooking

pasta water from pot

(Serves 4)

To Prepare:

1. Remove roasted butternut squash from skin and place in food processor.  Add enough water to puree until smooth and creamy, set aside.
2. In a large pot, boil water and add 1 tablespoon salt.  Place dried pasta in pot and boil for 8 minutes.
3. In another large pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and place over medium-high heat.  After 3 minutes, add sage leaves.  Cook until darkened slightly and crispy, about 3 minutes.
4. Remove and place on paper towel, set aside.
5. In same pan, add shallot and stir.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Add garlic powder, red pepper flakes, paprika and salt, stir.  Cook for 1 minute and add butternut squash puree, stir.
6. Add cooked pasta from pot into sauce and stir with tongs to combine.  Add milk and 1 cup pasta water, continue to stir.  Add more pasta water to thin to a nice consistency.
7. Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese and toss again.  Remove pan from heat.
8. Spoon pasta onto plates and top with remaining Parmesan and crispy sage leaves.  Enjoy!

Make a big pan of Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta during the week or on the weekends to enjoy with a big group of friends with some local wine from Santa Ynez Valley.