Winter months are perfect for rich, creamy, squash. I’m always looking for new ways to use this fantastic vegetable, and over the Thanksgiving holiday, we visited a restaurant in the West Village that served up a squash and pasta dish that was amazing. Naturally, when I came home, I wanted to tinker out a recipe of my own based on the theme.
The beauty of this recipe is its ease and minimal time required to make. Just dice up the butternut squash and toss with dark brown sugar, salt and pepper and a glug of light olive oil. Dump into a roasting dish and roast for about a 45 minutes to an hour in the oven. In the final 20 minutes, get the pasta water boiling, and by the time the pasta is done you are ready to do the final assembly.
The effort is so minimal that you may find yourself turning to this recipe on busy weeknights. Those are the recipes we like the most!
I hope you enjoy this roasted butternut squash wonder. Let me know how you enjoy the recipe in the comments below.
Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Thyme
PREP TIME
10
MINUTES
COOK TIME
35
MINUTES
TOTAL TIME
45
MINUTES
COOKING LEVEL
Beginner
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs Butternut Squash (cubed)
1 lb Trottole Pasta
1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
3 tbsp Heavy Cream
1/4 cup Pumpkin Seeds
1 tbsp Fresh Thyme plus sprigs for garnish
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, combine the butternut squash, dark brown sugar, olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss to coat the squash evenly. Pour into a roasting dish, cover with aluminum foil and roast for 45 – 60 minutes.
In the final 20 minutes of roasting, boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. When the pasta has cooked, strain and return pasta to the cooking pot remove the roasted butternut squash from the oven and place a 1/4 of the butternut squash into the pot with the pasta (these are chunky bits for the final dish). Put the remaining squash in a blender and puree until smooth, add the heavy cream and give one quick blitz. Pour the puree’s squash along with fresh thyme and pumpkin seeds to the pasta and stir to combine and coat the pasta. Serve and enjoy!