Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce – Flat without Sage

My last post featured my first use of a hand-crack pasta roller.  Today's post highlights the sauce that accompanied this homemade pasta, an improvised butternut squash sauce.

The inspiration for the recipe was drawn from several blogs, including Cookie and Kate.  I made a number of modifications to fit my personal preferences, what I had on hand, and past tips to coax the best flavor out of butternut squash. 

While I will stick with most of those modifications in the future, the one omission I will not repeat is no sage leaves.  Sage and butternut squash is a classic combination for a reason.  Sage adds an earthy and fresh flavor that can complete an otherwise creamy and bland butternut squash dish, and I noticed its exclusion from the pasta dish.  I also should have added slightly more pasta water to my final sauce, and it ended up being a bit too pasty and dry.

The full recipe details follow below.

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

• One 1.7 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed into 1/2 inch blocks 
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1.25 cups water
• 1.25 tsp of Better than Bouillon
• Crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste
• – 1/2 onion with 2 tbsp oil, 2 cloves sliced garlic
• Parmesan to garnish, optional

Directions:

• Place the butternut squash in a microwave safe dish, cover and microwave for 5 minutes

• At the same time, heat the olive oil in a medium pot on medium-high heat.  When hot and shimmering, add the onion and saute for 3 – 4 minutes or until the onion is translucent.  Stir in the garlic and a pinch of salt.

• Add the partially cooked butternut squash, along with the liquid from the cooked squash, to the pot.  Stir to combine.

• Saute for 3 – 5 minutes, and then stir in the water and bouillon.  Bring dish to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.  Cook until the butternut squash is fully tender and falling apart, approx. 10 – 15 minutes.

• Add crushed red pepper flakes to taste, and then puree the sauce with a stick blender or by placing the contents into a blender and then returning to the pot.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Stir in the cooked pasta.  Add pasta water if necessary to thin the sauce to your preference.  Serve immediately with a generous portion of parmesan cheese.