Butternut Penne

Butternut, also known as butternut pumpkin, is a wonderful winter squash with a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. The ripe flesh is a beautiful deep orange with a good sweetness to it and always in its prime during the winter months. I thought that instead of using the usual pasta sauce, I would create a recipe that used only butternut, which makes it very quick and simple to prepare, but also rich in flavour. This is a vegetarian recipe, but it is also fantastic with the addition of grilled prawns.

One cup of butternut squash contains only 63 calories and almost 150% of your daily recommended amount of Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. This vitamin and powerful antioxidant can prevent lung cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetic heart disease, help alleviate or prevent inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, lower cholesterol levels, and much more. Folate is another important nutrient which can help prevent birth defects. It also has 32% of DV of Vitamin C, 25% of your DV of potassium, almost 6 grams of fiber, manganese, omega 3 fatty acids, several vitamin B’s and copper.

If you give the cubed butternut a quick roasted in the oven you can really enrich its flavour.

Ingredients

•Olive oil
•1 small butternut squash, trimmed and cut into cubes
•2 garlic cloves, minced
•1 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
•1 cup vegetable stock
•1 packet Barilla Penne Rigate No. 73
•3/4 cup whole milk
•1/2 cup sage leaves
•1/4 cup grated Parmesan (reggiano)

Directions

Warm a good drizzle of olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add the butternut squash, garlic, a few torn sage leaves (not all of them), 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Saute until the squash is golden and tender, around 5 to 7 minutes or so.

Add the vegetable stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the squash is very soft, another 5 to 7 minutes. Mash with a potato masher until you get a smooth consistency. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, in fact, I like it slight chunky for the texture.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the penne and cook according to packet instructions – minus 2 minutes, so that it’s ever so slightly undercooked. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a separate small saucepan, heat olive oil over high heat. Shallow fry sage leaves until crispy and set aside on kitchen paper.

Add the drained pasta into the butternut mixture, and add 1/2 cup milk. Stir to combine. Add the remaining milk if you prefer a creamier sauce.

Sprinkle fried sage leaves on top and serve with grated reggiano.