Butternut Squash and Sage Spaghetti

Total Time
1.03 hours

Ingredients

1 butternut squash
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
24 sage leaves
320 g pasta
0.5 lemon juice
3 Tbsp Mascarpone cheese
some nutmeg
some salt
some pepper
3 cups pasta cooking water
some olive oil
0.5 tsp chili flakes
1 cup pecorino cheese

Cookware

1 kitchen towel or paper
1 blender
1 large frying pan

Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 2

Cut the butternut squash (pumpkin) in half, remove seeds and drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven skin side up along with garlic cloves. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until soft.

Step 3

In a frying pan on high heat, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom and once hot, fry your sage leaves on each side until crispy. Set aside on kitchen towel or paper.

Step 4

Meanwhile get your pasta water ready. Bring to the boil with enough salt. Try and time your pasta cooking time so it’s ready at the same time the pumpkins are soft. Cook your pasta 2 minutes less than al dente.

Step 5

Once pumpkins are cooked, remove skins and place the flesh in blender, add the garlic clove flesh, simply by squeezing the skins, add half a lemon juice, the Mascarpone cheese, some grated nutmeg, salt & pepper, and two to three cups of the pasta cooking water, blitz all ingredients until smooth.

Step 6

In a large frying pan on high heat, add a little olive oil, chili flakes and shredded sage leaves. Fry for 30 seconds to release the aromas. Pour the blended butternut content into the pan. Drain and transfer pasta directly to sauce. Mix well, you may need to add a little more of the pasta cooking water for a saucy consistency. Cook 2 minutes until al dente.

Step 7

Turn heat off, add three quarter cup of grated pecorino cheese, mix again taste for seasoning, adjust if required, mix and serve immediately.