Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

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

Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce

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.

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Kristen, December 16th 2009 | Tags:
Posted in Entree

Maple and Apple Cider Roasted Veggies

I had some random produce that I wanted to use the other night so I decided to make another veggie side to go with a Greens Gratin I had made for dinner. This turned out really, REALLY good, and would be perfect to add to your Thanksgiving Day table. I thought to myself, I must put this up on the blog to share with everyone. Unfortunately I do not have a picture. I had planned to take a picture the next day when I had lunch (plus more light to work with) but there wasn’t enough left to photograph. I totally made this up and I only somewhat measured things so feel free to play with the quantities.

Maple and Apple Cider Roasted Veggies

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

3 large beets, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 medium onion, sliced

3/4 cup apple cider

3 Tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine everything on a large, dark roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes at 400. Stir everything and roast for another 20 minutes. I stirred it again and roasted for about 10 more minutes. They are done when they are sticky, lightly browned, and soft.

This probably would only serve 4 so increase everything if you have more people, and if you are doing a lot of vegetables, split it up into two pans.

Do you have a new Thanksgiving recipe that you are using this year?

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Kristen, November 18th 2009 | Tags: ,
Posted in Sides

Butternut Squash = Fall

What signals fall to me the most is the arrival of the winter squashes.  These vegetables are often maligned for their odd shapes and thick skins.  But once you learn how to tackle them, they are oh so rewarding.

The weather here today was cold, rainy, and miserable.  So nothing is better on a day like that then some homemade soup!  Taking stock of the vegetables I had to play with in the kitchen I had:

  • Butternut Squash

  • Apples (from apple picking the other week)

  • Tomatoes (last few from the summer garden)

  • Leek

  • Garlic

  • Jalapeno Pepper (again last few from the summer garden)

So with that bounty I set out to make a Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup!

1 2.5 pound butternut squash; peeled, seeded and chopped

2 apples; peeled, cored and chopped

1 leek (white and light green parts only), sliced

2 tomatoes, cored and chopped

1 jalapeno pepper

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup spiced rum

4-6 cups water (depends on how thick or thin you want your soup)

Preheat the oven to 425.  Place the squash, apples, leek, and tomatoes in a dark roasting pan.  Toss with olive oil and a little salt and pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes, remove from oven and stir.  Roast for another 20 minutes.

In a large saucepan heat some olive oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic and the pepper and saute until they just start to brown.  Deglaze with the spiced rum.  Add the roasted vegetables and water.  Let the soup come to a boil.  Remove from heat and either transfer in batches to a blender, or go the much easier route and use an immersion blender right in the pot.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  YUM!

If you want your soup to be a little sweeter, give it 1 Tablespoon of honey or agave nectar.

What’s your favorite thing to do with a butternut squash?

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Kristen, October 16th 2009 | Tags: ,
Posted in Soup