Friday, January 29, 2010

Butternut Squash Pasta


I love our CSA (dont know what that is? read here) but sometimes its hard to come up with new recipes that combine the loads of produce we get each week. Last week, I was on a mission to find something new to do with butternut squash and greens. The first thing I do when looking for a new recipe is to check Tastespotting (crazy amazing food porn that I could look at for hours) "a community driven visual potluck". After some searching, I found a great recipe from Former Chef that I figured I could modify since I didnt have all the ingredients. When I start experimenting in the kitchen it doesnt always come out so well (I am much better at soap experiments) so Mister and I were both pleasantly surprised at how good my little modifications turned out to be so I thought I'd share it with you all.

Butternut Squash Pasta with Greens and Bacon


1 butternut squash peeled and diced into bite size pieces
3 strips of bacon (or pancetta)
2 garlic cloves minced
1 bunch baby greens washed and chopped (you could sub spinach)
1 container goat milk cream cheese
parmesan cheese
olive oil
red pepper flakes (optional)
sea salt and pepper to taste
2-3 servings whole wheat penne pasta

Preheat oven to 375F while you are chopping up the veggies. Coat the butternut squash in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30-40 min (check periodically). When the squash is about half way done start on the rest of the meal. Cook pasta making sure to set aside about 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Cut bacon into strips and cook until crisp, remove bacon from pan and drain on a paper towel. Leave a decent amount of bacon fat in the bottom of the pan and add the garlic, cooking for a minute. Add the chopped greens and saute until wilted - about 6-8 minutes. Take the greens from the pan and set aside. Add cooking liquid and goat milk cream cheese, whisk until smooth. Alright - almost done. Add the greens, butternut squash, bacon, and cream cheese/cooking liquid mixture to the pasta, mix and season with salt pepper and a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes. Note: if sauce seems too liquidy let it sit for a few minutes and it will thicken up. Add fresh grated parmesan cheese. Serve with salad and enjoy!!

4 comments:

Kristina said...

Nice job on the pasta! Looks great. I'm glad my pasta could serve as an inspiration. :-)
I only wish I could find a decent CSA where we live.

Alana said...

Thanks Kristina!! Bummer about the CSA - they are becoming more popular so hopefully some new ones will sprout up in your area.

Your blog is very inspirational. Can't wait for your homemade pasta recipes. I've never made pasta from scratch but I'd love to give it a try.

Anonymous said...

Alana, this sounds great! We've been members of our CSA for (!) 2 years now and love it. Another butternut squash recipe is always a welcome alternative to the usual soup.
And the Tastespotting site? OMG, exceptional food porn! Thanks for the link.

Alana said...

I know what you mean, I love butternut squash soup and roasted butternut squash but sometimes I need to switch it up. LOOOOVE tastespottin. You can also find food porn on Food Gawker - www.foodgawker.com.