The squash is sweet and earthy, and the salty sausage is a perfect complement. Sage, of course, is the quintessential fall herb.
It’s sweater weather! Hooray! It’s finally time to cook meals that are filling, warm, and comforting. This Orecchiette with Butternut Squash checks all the boxes.
The squash is sweet and earthy, and the salty sausage is a perfect complement. Sage, of course, is the quintessential fall herb, popping up in everything from a pork roast to your Thanksgiving stuffing.
Hacking up a butternut squash is somewhat daunting, but I am begging you not to let that stand between you and this tasty, autumnal pasta dish. To start tackling the squash, you’ll need a big, sharp knife, a vegetable peeler, and a very stable cutting board. Placing two barely damp paper towels flat between the cutting board and the counter can help the board from sliding around while you’re slicing and dicing.
Take extreme care with the cutting. Nobody likes a surprise finger in their dinner!
Orecchiette with Butternut Squash
1 1-pound whole butternut squash
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra salt
1 pound dried orecchiette pasta, or shells
1 tablespoon butter
Parmesan cheese, for serving
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line two rimmed baking pans with parchment paper.
- Trim both ends off the butternut squash, and then peel. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds.
- Carefully dice the squash into one-inch cubes.
- Place the diced squash in a large mixing bowl. If needed, remove the sausage from the casings. Add the oil and the raw, crumbled sausage to the bowl, using your fingers to break it into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the garlic, sage, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to the mixing bowl. Toss well, so that the squash is well coated with oil.
- Divide the squash mixture evenly among the two baking pans and place them in the oven. Bake for twenty minutes total, rotating and switching the pans after ten minutes. Check to see that the squash is fork tender before removing from the oven.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the water, and stir. Then add the orecchiette and cook until just al dente. Reserve one cup pasta cooking liquid. Drain the pasta and return the hot pasta back to the pot.
- Add the cooked squash and sausage to the pot with the pasta, along with the butter, and about half a cup of the pasta cooking water. Toss well. Add more water, and salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve warm, with Parmesan cheese.
This recipe will yield eight servings.
