Butternut Squash Pasta by Monique Santua

Butternut Squash Pasta
By Monique Santua
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 cup butternut squash, small dice
1 carrot sliced thinly
½ cup onions
3 sage leaves
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

Spaghetti or pasta of your choice
¼ cup pancetta or bacon (sub oyster mushroom for vegetarian option)
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup white wine
2 tbsp butter
2 sage leaves chiffonade
Parmesan, microplaned

Directions

Heat a pot of water for pasta. Make sure to salt the water!

In a medium saute pan, bloom garlic. Add onions and saute with a pinch of salt. Add carrots, butternut squash, and sage and cook through.

Blend butternut squash mixture, adding honey and water to thin as necessary.

Wipe pan clean. Render bacon. If using oyster mushrooms, heat neutral oil until just smoking and saute oyster mushrooms with a pinch of salt. Add sage, minced ginger, and garlic and saute until fragrant (1 min). Deglaze with white wine and simmer until liquid is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, drop pasta into the pasta water

Add pureed butternut squash to the pan and heat. Add in butter and stir until melted. Adjust salt to taste. Hold on medium low until pasta is ready.

When pasta is cooked through, add directly into the sauce and toss to incorporate. Add parmesan. This will thicken the sauce, so add a splash of pasta water to thin the sauce as needed. Add salt to taste. Finish with olive oil.