Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Butternut Sauce

Need a change of pace from traditional tomato pasta sauce? Then this is your recipe! This butternut sauce was rich and delicious. It was definitely a heavier dish than I expected, it was very filling. I found several different versions of this recipe: some used onion or leeks, more or less butter, boil or saute squash, etc. One even sautéed the squash in half a cup of butter! Sounds amazing but I went with the more healthy recipe form skinnytaste.com.
Spaghetti with Creamy Butternut Leek Parmesan Sauce
(Pinterest find! Adapted from skinnytaste.com)
Ingredients:
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon butter
8 oz spaghetti
1 cup leek, white part only, sliced and diced (about 1 large leek)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
4 sage leaves, sliced thin (I only used two)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup pasta water, reserved
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add butternut squash and cook until soft. Remove squash with a slotted spoon and place in a blender, blend until smooth.
2. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions for al dente, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
3. In a large deep non-stick skillet, melt the butter, sauté the leeks and garlic over medium-low heat until soft and golden, about 5 - 6 minutes. Add pureed butternut squash, season with with salt and fresh cracked pepper and the reserved pasta water, little bits at a time, to thin out the sauce. Stir in parmesan cheese and sage and mix in pasta until well coated.

5 comments:

  1. Convenient since I just happened to buy a butternut at the store this weekend Will try it this week.

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  2. Made it tonight for dinner. Excellent, especally as I am not a fan of tomato sauce but love butternut You know the old saying..(roughly) if you're in the garden and can't find a pea, take a leek. Well, couldn't find that either in the store. Used a mild onion and it was fine. I am going to give this to Angela who is trying to reduce salt for high blood pressure. She is having difficulty finding taste in recipes This will be great.

    Man input: healthy, hearty and filling Recommended for those that don't like squash. That's right Don't like. He said it they would enjoy it.

    I wonder if this would freeze well. I want to grow butternut again next year. I need an old manure pile to get as many as we did that year in Sharon. Guess I'll be content with Moo Doo purchased at Southern States.

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    Replies
    1. Yaaaaaay! I'm glad that you and the man liked it! Kevin and I thought it was a nice change of pace....plus you know how I love squash!

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  3. Gave Angela some of the recipe. She liked it alot and will be making it herself. She particularly liked the low sodium aspect of it as she struggles with high blood pressure. She will try using the frozen, already pureed, packages of squash.

    Sent it to Aunt Betsy to give to Mom and Dad. You should do some follow up and see if they received it. I think they would like it too.

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  4. Had this recipe again. Good stuff. Probably better with fresh parmesan, I used the Kraft.

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