But who am I trying to kid? I'll have eaten them all by Christmas!
The dish below is loosely inspired by Melt's recipe for "Roaring Forties with Honey Roasted Delicata Squash, Sage Butter, and Rotini" I made last month. In my dish, everything cooks on the stovetop -- freeing up the oven to bake the dozen wee sweet potatoes that were also in my CSA share -- and I've replaced the nuts with pancetta.
Rotini with Butternut Squash & Pancetta
Yield: 6Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 oz chopped yellow onion
- 4 oz chopped pancetta
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, & diced small (¼-inch cubes)
- ½ tsp rosemary
- ½ tsp sage
- ½ tsp thyme
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 10 oz whole grain rotini
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 oz crumbled blue cheese, plus extra to serve
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium in a large Dutch/French oven. Add pancetta and cook for a few mins or until much of the fat is rendered out. Add the onion and cook for 5 mins, until it softens and the pancetta is crispy.
- Add the butter, squash, rosemary, sage, thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes. Mix well to combine. Cover and cook for 10-12 mins, stirring occasionally, until the squash is soft, but not mushy. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the back of the box. Drain and add to the squash mixture. Add the blue cheese and season to taste. Serve in pasta bowls sprinkled with extra blue cheese.
For years, I thought winter squash was called such because it was harvested in the fall and we needed a name to clearly differentiate it from summer squash, but NO. I know nothing. Winter squash is so named because it keeps through the winter. So obvious.