Autumn Baked Pasta

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Title: Autumn Baked Pasta (with Butternut Squash, Bacon, Onions, Three Cheeses, and Pine Nuts)

From: CityMama

Ingredients:

Tips: the halved and seeded squash (seasoned with a little salt and pepper) baked at 350º for 45 minutes. I let it cool then peeled it with my trusty Y-peeler. Pancetta can easily be substituted for the bacon. Or, remove bacon completely for an ovo-lacto vegetarian dish.

Preheat oven to 350º.

* 1 box Barilla Campanelle pasta (or other short pasta) cooked very al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions indicate (cook while preparing sauce)
* 1 butternut squash, halved and roasted then peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
* 2 sprigs (6-8) fresh sage leaves
* 4 cloves garlic
* 1 shallot, chopped
* 1 large onion,chopped
* dry rosé or white wine (last night’s leftover wine is perfect for this)
* 6 slices of nitrite-free bacon (I like Beeler’s), remove fat and dice
* 4 glugs of olive oil
* raw milk gruyere and parmigiano reggiano, grated (2 generous handfuls each)
* gorgonzola, crumbled (1 handful)
* lightly toasted pine nuts (they will toast further in the oven; 1 handful)

While pasta is cooking, beging sauce by heating olive oil over medium heat then adding garlic, shallot, onion, and sage leaves. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until onions start to become translucent. Add bacon, cook 10 minutes stiring often. Splash in wine (3-4 glugs). Allow sauce to simmer and reduce, then continue cooking on low for about 15 minutes until onions begin to brown. (If you want truly carmelized onions, let them cook for an hour on low THEN add in the bacon and proceed.)

Add in diced butternut squash and a little more wine plus some pasta cooking water if the sauce needs loosening. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper. (Remember lots of salty cheese is going into this).

Drain pasta. Remove sage leaves from sauce and toss with pasta. Toss with gorgonzola. Pour mixture into a greased 11 x 17 (or comparable) casserole dish. Top with gruyere lightly mixing it into the pasta, then top with parmigiano. Sprinkle pine nuts over all. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes more until lightly browned. Serves 6.

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Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Chicken

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Title:

From: Two Fat Als

Ingredients:

2 spaghetti squash
4 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup parmesean cheese
4 chicken cutlets
1 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Halve each squash and place the pieces face down on a greased baking sheet. Bake them for about 30 minutes, until it feels tender when you stick a knife in it. Meanwhile, make the pesto by blending (in a blender or food processor) the basil, oil, pine nuts, cheese and salt. It makes about a cup, and freezes well. Throw some salt and pepper on the chicken, cut it into strips, and cook it in a pan. After the squash has cooked and cooled slightly, remove the seeds from the middle, then use a fork to scrape out the flesh. It should come out in little spaghetti strips. Throw the chicken in with the squash, and mix in about 3-4 tbsp pesto.

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Ravioli with Butternut Squash and Pancetta

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Title: Ravioli with Butternut Squash and Pancetta

From: CityMama

Ingredients:

Butternut squash
Garlic
Shallots
Pancetta
Parmesan cheese
Pepper
Ravioli

Buy or make grilled chicken-stuffed, triangle-shaped ravioli (from Costco, near the hummus). To make the sauce above, bake off a butternut squash then cube it. I added it to a pan in which I sauteed garlic, shallots, and about 4 ounces of diced pancetta. I tossed the squash gently and just warmed it through. I added a spoonful of pasta cooking water to the sauce to loosen it, then tossed it with the cooked ravioli. A little parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper were the finishing touches.

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