Right after summer sounds like the perfect time to start eating better, right?! I know, I feel like I’m a little late to the game, considering I won’t be in a bathing suit for about 8 months. But I guess now is better than never!
I love food..
you should know this about me by now. I always have. I was never that person to “forget to eat lunch” or order a side salad instead of fries. Fries. Every. Time. But as I’m getting older, the reality of bouncing back after a dinner of bread, 3 appetizers, a bowl of pasta, and a dessert…are sadly long gone. But instead of cutting all the things out I love all together, I decided to just make small, healthier changes. So I can still eat the pasta, but maybe not with a cup of cream and 2 cups of cheese on it (I dream about cheese).
October is Butternut Squash Month
Okay… not really. But I feel like it may as well be. BN Squash is about to take over your Instagram feed, if it hasn’t already. I’ve made butternut squash pasta before, but it was always cubed throughout. I wanted to make something that was creamy, kind of like a butternut squash soup and pasta had a baby.
The beginning is a similar process if you’re making soup. You roast the squash and aromatics (onion, in this case), in the oven until tender, and then puree until smooth. You add some stock and a little half and half, like the soup. But you don’t stop there! Now you add in pasta and all of sudden it’s a whole new dish. This creamy pasta is something the whole family will love. It has those warm notes from the squash itself and cinnamon and nutmeg, but then the salty bite from the turkey bacon.
If you’re not trying to watch what you eat, by ALL means, use pork bacon, cream, more cheese……
I made myself whole grain pasta – and my BF rigatoni. He’s gotten on board with the eating better, but the pasta is just something he stands firm on. He doesn’t like the taste of whole wheat pasta (I don’t blame him, it’s not the same). But the rigatonis are just sooo much prettier!
Better For You Butternut Squash Pasta
Equipment
- You’ll need a blender or food processor – or immersion blender.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of butternut squash diced
- 3 strips of turkey bacon
- 1 small white onion diced
- 1 ½ cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of fat free half and half
- Pinch of nutmeg freshly grated, if possible
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
- Fresh sage
- 1 lb of pasta I like rigatoni, or you can use whole wheat or whole grain as well
- ¼ cup of Pecorino or Parmesan plus more for garnish
- Salt & pepper
- Few sprigs of fresh thyme leaves chopped
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lined baking sheet, spread out the butternut squash and onion, drizzling with the olive oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and pepper, making sure everything is combined. When the oven is heated, cook until the squash is soft and can be pierced easily with a fork, about 40 minutes – an hour, depending on how big the pieces are.
- While the squash is cooking, cut the turkey bacon into pieces. Spray a deep pan (deep enough to hold a pound of pasta) with cooking spray, and crisp up the turkey bacon. Once it’s crisp, remove onto a plate and set aside. Carefully, with a damp paper towel, wipe the pan clean.
- When the butternut squash and onion are done, carefully transfer all of it plus the juices, with 1/2 cup of the stock to a blender, and pulse until fully smooth. If it’s too thick, add a little more stock at a time until it’s creamy and has a nice consistency.
- When the squash is all pureed, pour into the deep pan, and turn the heat to medium. Add half a cup of the stock at a time, until you feel like it’s a good consistency (I used the full cup). Also add in the thyme and half and half. Swirl everything together until it’s combined. In the meantime, bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, and drop the pasta in.
- Taste the sauce – adjust with salt and pepper as needed. While the pasta is cooking, chop up a handful of sage.
- Once the pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes, drain the pasta and add to the sauce. I actually like to just transfer the pasta directly from the water to the sauce, using a spider or a slotted spoon. This keeps some of the starchy pasta water to help bring that sauce together.
- Cook the pasta a few minutes in the sauce. This is the most important part, in my opinion. It helps the two become one! Add the sage, turkey bacon, and 1/4 of pecorino in and stir until all combined – taste and adjust any seasoning… Enjoy!
