Tomato Tomatoe

CREAMY HONEYNUT SQUASH PASTA

This is by far one of my favourite fall pastas ever! Your brain gets disguised into thinking you’re eating mac and cheese but it’s actually just the creamy honeynut squash sauce. The sauce is creamy and luscious making this pasta the perfect comforting meal for fall. The most important aspect to this recipe is the crispy sage and sourdough breadcrumb crumble. You can’t skip this step! Sage is the star herb of fall cooking and it’s absolutely necessary in this pasta. The flavours in this pasta are sweet, nutty and earthy. I make this pasta a few times during the fall season because I just can’t get enough!

 

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creamy honeynut squash pasta

Ingredients

• 1 large honeynut or butternut squash, peeled and sliced into cubes
• Olive oil for roasting the squash and a few tbsp for the sauce
• 2 onions, sliced in half
• 8-10 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2- 1 cup pasta water
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of sourdough breadcrumbs
• 1 box of rigatoni
  

Directions

1. Peel the squash and cut it into cubes. Cut the onion in half and add to a large baking sheet along with the cubes of squash. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the fresh sprigs of thyme on top. Roast in the oven at 400 for 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Add the roasted vegetables to a blender with milk and nutmeg. Add 1/4 cup of filtered water and blend until smooth. Add more water if the sauce is too thick and not blending.
3. To make the crumble add a drizzle of olive oil to a medium sized fry pan set to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add whole sage leaves. Let these crisp on both sides for a few minutes. Once crispy, remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl. Slice your sourdough bread into small cubes. Toast the bread cubes in olive oil, salt and pepper. Toast until crispy. Let these cool and add to a plastic bag and crush them until they turn into breadcrumbs. Crush the sage leaves with your fingers and mix them with the breadcrumbs. Set crumble aside.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook for 2 minutes less than what the package says.
5. Heat a large Dutch oven to medium high heat and add butter and a few tbsp of olive. Once the pot is hot, add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the squash purée and add 1/2-1 cup pasta water. Once the sauce has loosened add the pasta and cook for a few minutes. The pasta sauce should be smooth and creamy. Turn the heat off and add in freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano. Top with a tbsp of the breadcrumb crumble.