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A delicious and comforting lightened up Fall dish… Butternut Squash Pappardelle with Sage and Parmesan.
Planning a wedding in less than 6 months is no easy task, planning an Indian wedding is even more arduous.
There is so much to do… from setting a date to negotiating a venue to sending out invitations to buying wedding outfits for three different occasions to finding the right jewelry and shoes to searching for a photographer, DJ, caterer, decorator, wedding cake, hair & makeup person to picking out a color theme to figuring out centerpieces to buying wedding favors to planning a honeymoon.
Planning a wedding, in a nutshell. Some love it, some dread it. I fall in the latter category, not complaining, just sayin’.
I’m stressed just thinking about how much has been done, and how much there still is left to do. Luckily, I have been blessed with an amazing fiancé who is handling more than his fair share.
My full-time job occupies my day, my blog and wedding planning consume me at night, and my weekends are all about family and wedding shopping.
These days cooking a real meal has taken a backseat. Often times I’ll whip up eggs for dinner, or a quick fish dinner, but it’s rare that I’ll actually spend an hour to cook.
Fall is my favorite season and butternut squash is one of my favorite fall ingredients. I’ve dreamed of making Butternut Squash Pasta with sage, and I finally decided to do it when I found Parmigiano Reggiano on sale at Whole Foods NYC, in addition to organic butternut squash.
This dish is incredibly delicious, comforting and satisfying. It’ll instantly warm you up on that perfect cool fall night. Enjoy!
Butternut Squash Pappardelle with Sage and Parmesan (lightened up)
INGREDIENTS
for the pasta
- pot of water
- 8 ounces pappardelle
for the sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 xup fresh sage leaves
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp crushed pepper flakes
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large butternut squash, small cubes ~ 7 heaping cups
- to taste himalayan pink salt
- to taste black pepper
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp half n half
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, you can add more
- 1/2 reserved pasta water, you can add more
for garnish
- to taste black pepper
- to taste Nutmeg – to taste
- to taste parmesan cheese
- few leaved reserved from earlier sage
INSTRUCTIONS
- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta and cover it with a lid. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to low until we are ready to cook the pasta.
- Begin by trimming the butternut squash.
- Chop into small cubes.
- Chop the garlic and onion, and set aside fresh sage.
- Heat up a cast-iron pot on medium heat, add the butter.
- Once the butter slightly browns, add the sage. Fry for about 30 - 45 seconds.
- Remove the sage from the pot and set aside.
- In the same pot, add extra virgin olive oil.
- Add the crushed red pepper, garlic, and onion. Cook for about 1 minute until translucent.
- Once translucent.
- Add the butternut squash - roughly 7 heaping cups. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Cook the squash on medium heat stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
- Cover with a lid and cook for another 10 minutes on low heat.
- In the meantime, grate some Parmesan Cheese. Set aside.
- Check on the butternut squash... this is what you should have... fork tender butternut squash.
- Add 2 cups of water and stir.
- Now add the pappardelle to the boiling hot water. Season with salt. Cook 7 minutes until al dente.
- Using an immersion blender, carefully blend the squash on low.
- This is what you should have... creamy butternut squash.
- Reserve about 3 cups of butternut squash for later use, you can use it for soup. We will not be using all of it for this dish.
- Once the pasta is done, add it to the butternut squash sauce. Make sure you reserve about 1 cup of pasta water for later.
- Top with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.
- Toss.
- Top with most of the sage reserving a few pieces for later as garnish.
- Add half n half and 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water. You can add more pasta water to thin out the sauce if need be.
- Toss. Creamy pasta.
- Plate it. Add the pappardelle and top with black pepper, nutmeg, more parmesan cheese and few reserved pieces of fried sage leaves. So good!
