butternut squash pasta sauce

I don’t know about you but when I make a homemade pasta sauce it’s almost always tomato based. I don’t really ever think outside of the box. This sauce is of course so seasonal and it’s just perfect with some simple cheese ravioli or well-seasoned plain pasta.

Maybe you’d like to make the ravioli from scratch too. If so, this recipe looks blooming gorgeous. Otherwise, packaged is just dandy – that’s what I used! The sauce is rich and tastes complex even though it’s super simple. Just sage, garlic, half and half, and that amazing butternut squash.

Perfect weeknight fare, no?

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 8

Ingredients

  • 1 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 5 cloves garlic, peel on
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • Pasta (such as cheese ravioli or any short pasta), for serving
  • Toppings, such as grated parmesan cheese, chopped toasted walnuts, finely chopped fresh sage

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375F . Using a large, sharp knife, trim ends; halve squash crosswise to separate bulb from neck. Peel with a vegetable peeler. Cut both pieces in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out seeds; discard.
  2. Cut squash into 2-inch chunks; transfer to a small rimmed baking sheet. Toss with oil and sage; season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter garlic around squash. Roast until squash is very tender, about 40 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Remove and discard skin from garlic.
  3. Transfer squash and garlic to a food processor; puree. With motor running, add half-and-half through the feed tube; process until smooth. Add 1 to 2 cups water; continue to process until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Season again generously with salt.
  4. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot. Pour sauce over pasta; toss to coat. Add some pasta water to thin sauce if necessary. Serve with desired toppings.
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Category: recipe 6 comments »

6 Responses to “butternut squash pasta sauce”

  1. Erica
    December 6th, 2010 at 9:27 am

    mmm this just looks so comforting. BN squash has been making quite a few appearances in my meals as of late, I think its time to try it as a sauce. Hope you guys had a great weekend

    [Reply]
  2. sofia
    December 6th, 2010 at 9:35 am

    simply beautiful. seriously wow. i’ve yet to make a butternut squash sauce, or even conceive of the idea. bravo!

    [Reply]
  3. Megan (The Runner's Kitchen)
    December 6th, 2010 at 11:18 am

    I’m a weirdo who doesn’t like pasta + tomato sauce, so this is a welcome change. Love the basic ingredient list!

    [Reply]
  4. emily (a nutritionist eats)
    December 6th, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    I need this. Now!

    [Reply]
  5. Susan
    December 7th, 2010 at 11:23 am

    Dearest Angharad, you just blew my mind! I’ve never even thought of making sauce out of other vegetables, let alone squash!! I bet this would be really good with some cheese and macaroni too :)

    [Reply]
  6. Holly
    December 8th, 2010 at 11:19 am

    GENIUS!

    the only thing is i have this huge problem with half and half. i swigged one of those little plastic thimbles of it at Perkins once on a dare. it came shooting through my nose and sent half and half ALL OVER THE TABLE. we were laughing so hard. our waitress got mad at us. i felt sick the rest of the night. i haven’t had half and half since.

    point of my story: i think i will make this and sub whole milk or 2%. end.

    [Reply]

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