The final dish featuring the 5.5 pound butternut squash was a fettucine with pureed butternut squash sauce, inspired by butternut squash-filled raviolis. Because I wanted to rely on ingredients I already had on hand, I decided to opt for one of the simpler online recipes I had found – interestingly enough, the "Simply Recipes" version.
I ended up using about 1/2 of the squash called for in the recipe (what I had on hand), though kept the onion and spices amounts from the original recipe intact. I also microwaved the squash, covered, for approximately 13 minutes instead of roasting it to both speed up the process and account for my pre-cut squash chunks instead of a whole squash.
Ultimately, I found the sauce to have a one-note flavor and thought it could have benefited from more fresh herbs – particularly sage which pairs very well with butternut squash. In addition, I should have used more water to thin the sauce because as I added the sauce to the pasta, it was a little too thick for my preference. That being said, my dinner guests really enjoyed the sauce so I think it's a good recipe base from which to make alterations for a quick, healthy weeknight meal.
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