Thursday, February 28, 2008

Another Quick Dinner and Some Sage Advice...


I have another confession. I love butternut squash. I can't get enough of it. I am always looking for new, interesting and delicious ways to prepare butternut squash. One of my greatest successes but also failures was my butternut squash ravioli. Please, ask my family about that story and they will crack up!

A couple years ago, I decided I was going to make dinner for my family. I had this recipe in mind for butternut squash ravioli that filled wonton wrappers with a goat cheese butternut squash mixture. It sounded divine! I figured it would be fairly easy to make but I was very very wrong. I am a naturally messy cook but this was a disaster. Filling and wonton wrappers were everywhere. But I finally made a small bowl of butternut squash ravioli, which I put on my nicely set table and called my family to dinner. My sister, brother and parents each served themselves a couple (about 3) ravioli. They loved them but then asked "What is for dinner?" Yes, I kind of misjudged the quantity needed to feed a family of five. I will never live down that kitchen adventure but at least the ravioli tasted good!

I keep noticing Ruth's Presto Pasta Night but have never gotten my act together to add one to the roundup. For its first birthday, I decided to enter this dish. The original recipe came from a New York Times article encouraging the reader to eat more vegetables with less pasta. I cannot promise that we always do that but the pasta sauce is delicious. I added sage because butternut squash and sage are the perfect pair. Check out the round-up for other pasta dishes at Once Upon A Feast.





Pasta with Butternut Squash and Tomatoes
(adapted from NY Times)

Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
1 shallot, sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 tablespoon sage, chopped
1 can (14.5 ounces) chopped tomatoes
1 pound peeled, pre-cut butternut squash (I love the already cut up squash you can buy at the store, it is worth the extra expense for me not to have to risk a digit cutting up the squash)

1/2 pound cut pasta, like ziti or penne

Freshly chopped parsley or Parmesan for garnish.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.

2. Put olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, shallots, sage and pepper flakes and cook for about a minute.

3. Add tomatoes and squash, and cook with some salt and pepper.

4. When squash is tender -- about 15 minutes -- cook pasta until it is tender. Combine sauce and pasta, and serve, garnished with parsley or Parmesan.


P.S. Some more sage advice...One of my favorite dishes to make is a simple brown butter sauce with sage over ravioli or tortellini. Take about 3 tablespoons of butter and heat over medium heat until it begins to melt and bubble. Take about 5 leaves of sage (I like to dice them) and put in the melting butter. Cook until the butter begin to brown. Pour over some ravioli, sprinkle with Parmesan and eat! yummy!

9 comments:

Ruth Daniels said...

Glad you finally made it to Presto Pasta Nights. I love the story, too. I usually make way more food than we could possibly eat, but there are times....

LyB said...

Butternut Squash is my favorite, I love roasting it whole and using it in soups. It's also very good with thyme.

I tagged you for a meme!
http://andthenidothedishes.blogspot.com/2008/02/meme-and-nice-bowl-of-soup.html

Resa said...

Oh...You do not get off that easy. Let me set the record straight. I do not eat squash because it's good for me. Ginny made two raviolis for four people, not five. However, our family could have probably been sustained for a month off the mess on the counters and floors.

Cakebrain said...

I love roasted butternut squash too! It's so delicious and healthy to boot! Wouldn't it be lovely if you could just cook and bake and not have to clean up anything afterwards?

Ginny said...

ruth- thanks for the event! I definitely plan to enter more often.

lyb- butternut squash and thyme- a great new combination to try! thanks for tagging me!

resa- Thanks sist! I can always count on you to make fun of me! :)

cakebrain- thanks for the comment! Unfortunately, a mess is the consequence of a good food but I think its worth it!

Emily said...

I love butternut squash! Especially with fried sage.
I've done that too, with feeding my family. I fed 5 the other night, and it was tight. Nobody could have seconds!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea for using squash! Sounds wonderful--I'm bookmarking this one! And about the ravioli--well, always best to keep 'em wanting more, right? ;)

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ginny said...

Ricki- thanks for stopping by! I love butternut squash so be prepared for more to come.

fiddleheadfern- I hated to delete your comment but please stick to the post and not advertise within your comment. Thank you!