Little Speck on Big Planet

Looking at my recipes as of lately, I seem to be stuck on butternut squash.

My inspiration for this recipe came from purchasing some ravioli at our local farmers market this past weekend. We have a store here called Galletta’s, it’s an Italian deli that also makes their own pastas. Growing up in an Italian family, I appreciate the amount of work and time that goes into making ravioli. My Nana used to make dozens and dozens of them to feed us at family gatherings. Nana is no longer with us so I was thrilled to see Galletta’s offering their pastas at the farmers marekt. I typically think of doing something tomato based when it comes to pasta, but I wanted to try something different. Here is what I came up with.

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

2 heads of garlic, remove white papery skin but leave the cloves together

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced in 1/2 inch pieces

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 cup water

3/4 cup half and half

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the top quarter off both heads of garlic. Place on aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil, wrap tightly in the foil and roast for 40 minutes at 425. Remove and allow the garlic to cool enough to be able to handle the cloves. Press out the garlic pulp into a medium saucepan.

Toss the butternut squash on a dark roasting pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes at 425. Stir the butternut squash about half way through the roasting time to brown all sides. Add the squash to the garlic in the saucepan.

Add the dried sage, water, and half and half to the same saucepan. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and warm the sauce over medium low until hot.

Pour the sauce over the pasta of your choice.

Note: You may need to add more liquid depending on the size of your particular butternut squash. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more water or half and half to smooth the sauce out.

I served this with some steamed broccoli.