Roasted Butternut & Sage Orrichette

Years ago I snipped a recipe out of Cooking Light magazine and came across it again just recently. I’ve adapted it a bit to our taste. It’s very simple to prepare and even if you’re one of those non-squash eaters out there, this just may change your mind! I prefer to use butternut, but acorn squash or pumpkin works equally as well. The addition of roasted tomatoes to the sage roasted squash just rounds out this dish beautifully. If you missed the post on how I roast my summer tomatoes, you can find it here.
Any pasta will work with this, ditilani, cavatelli, or small shells, if it’s kept to similar size of your squash cuts. We simply enjoy orrichette.



Sage Roasted Squash

1/4 tsp sea salt, divided
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary
few sprigs of fresh thyme, diced
4 sage leaves, chopped
olive oil
1 medium sized butternut squash, halved & seeded
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3 cups (1-inch) cubes pre-roasted and peeled butternut squash
2 fennel & cheese sausages, casings removed *opt or try some diced prosciutto
1 cup shallots, diced
3 garlic cloves, smashed
½ cup roasted plum tomatoes ( that you hopefully have in your freezer from the summer garden)
10 oz orrichette or pasta of choice
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup provolone cheese, grated
1/3 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 425°.

Roasting Squash

Combine sea salt, rosemary, thyme and pepper. Drizzle olive oil over inner side of butternut squash. Sprinkle with salt/herb mixture. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until just tender and lightly browned. Once cool enough to work with, cut squash into bite sized pieces & set aside.

Cook the sausage filling in a large skillet over medium heat until lightly browned.. Remove sausage from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots and garlic to pan; sauté until tender. Combine squash mixture, sausage mixture, roasted plum tomatoes, shallots & garlic and set aside.
Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt.. Drain well.
In a large skillet combine 1 tsp olive oil, flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt over medium-high heat Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a gentle boil. Cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts.

Add pasta, sausage, shallots, garlic, roasted tomatoes and top with cubed squash to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!