Pasta with Butternut Squash

Few recipes that are this easy taste this good.



Ingredients

• 1/2lb cooked spaghetti
  
• 1lb butternut squash (a small butternut squash), peeled and cubed, (seeds removed)
  
• 1 medium yellow onions, peeled and bisected orthogonally. Or whatever.
  
• ~4oz ripe tomatoes, washed
  
• 3 stalks celery, washed
  
• olive oil
  
• water
  
• salt
  
• 1.5tsp dry rubbed sage
  
• black pepper
  
• parmesan cheese
  
• 5 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped (or else pancetta)
  

Place the squash, onion, tomatoes (whole, if you please), and celery in a casserole dish. Toss with olive oil, and place in a 350-400 degree oven until the squash is just tender, about 45 minutes at 350 or 30 minutes at 400 (maybe - check with a fork). While they're going, start water boiling for the pasta. When the vegetables are done, puree them in a food processor and taste, adding salt as needed. This recipe takes a lot of salt. Add the sage and about 1/2c water and continue to puree until mostly smooth. Meanwhile, make sure that the pasta is cooking. Pour the squash sauce into a pan and add some water until it's just a little liquidy. Set to high heat and cover, letting cook for 5 minutes or so while you drain the pasta. Then take the sauce off the heat (provided it's thick enough - otherwise just uncover and cook until it's done) and pour the pasta in, tossing to coat. Grate a lot of black pepper into it and sprinkle with parmesan (maybe as much as 1/2c?) and bacon / pancetta. Serve. Thoughts: WHY have we never done this before? This will probably become a go-to recipe. It's fairly healthy (lots of vegetables, not too much fat - I used "center cut" low fat bacon) and it's really good. Disaster Index: 1/10