Pumpkin/Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Fall is in full bloom (or lack thereof) here in Pennsylvania. The markets are being flooded with all the fall harvest has to offer. Apples, Pears, and all sorts of winter squash are every where you turn. Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the all the colors of the leaves and especially all the food. It's the time of year for comfort foods. Hearty soups, stews and pot pies are what this season is all about, they warm you from the inside out. This dish is no different. Tasty, sweet pumpkin and butternut squash turn savory with very little effort. Even better is that I can get my daughter to eat her veggies with this without even realizing it!

What You Need:

Approx 1 1/2lb butternut squash or pumpkin (or both)

2 carrots

Veg oil or melted butter

Salt and pepper

1 tsp dried sage

1 onion sautéed in a little butter or oil

1 c cream or milk

½ c parmesan cheese

1 tbs lemon juice

Fresh minced parsley for garnish (optional)

What To Do:


Preheat oven to 400. Quarter and seed squash. Brush cut sides with oil or melted butter and season with salt and pepper, placing them onto a sheet pan. Use two sheet pans if needed so that the squash have plenty of space for heat to get to all sides. Peel the carrots, brush with oil or melted butter, season with salt and pepper and place on the baking sheet with the squash. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the squash and carrots and soft. Let cool for a bit, the scoop flesh into a blender along with the carrots and sage and blend the milk or cream. Add the mixture to the sautéed onions and stir in the parm cheese and lemon juice. Serve over pasta. It goes really really well with cheese filled pastas.




Here's what Loni (working mom and wife) had to say:

We are not pumpkin people.  When Erica sent us a recipe for a pumpkin pasta sauce I was worried.  But then when I saw I could make the same recipe out of butternut squash I knew I could do this.  To be honest I had never cooked a butternet squash before.  Parker had had plenty of it for baby food but I bought Gerber.  At least I knew he liked the flavor so I thought I'd be safe giving it to him.  I wasn't sure if I liked butternet squash or not.  Now I know, I do, at least as a pasta sauce!  And it really feels like fall when you're eating it!

I loved that the recipe had carrots in it.  First of all I have had a love affair with them lately and I don't know why, but also they added color to the recipe.  I think with the orangey-ness of the sauce Parker thought it was macaroni and cheese, and he ate it as if it was too, good sign!! He loved it, ate two servings of it over plain pasta.  Erica said it would be good with a filled pasta which I would have loved to have tried, but we didn't have any.  I served the sauce over plain penne and sprinkled some more parmesan cheese on top.  It was delightful, perfect for a quick meal yet hearty enough to be full!  I like that the hint of lemon juice gave it such a nice fresh flavor.  And even better is that I have extra sauce, (it makes plenty!) so hopefully I can get to the store and buy some filled pastas.