Pasta With Butternut Squash, Sage, and Chinese Sausage

Our fridge is currently packed with produce, after we received our first CSA box last week. CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a great way to buy fresh, seasonal, organic produce directly from local farmers. For $20, we received a big box of good stuff - butternut squash, lettuce, spinach, carrots, chile peppers, grape tomatoes, cantaloupe, basil, parsley, celery, and onions. And now I'm faced with the fun challenge of putting all this stuff to good use.

Enter this pasta dish. Roasted butternut squash, homegrown sage, parmesan, and a surprise addition of Chinese sausage (lap cheong, which is sold in Asian markets, Costco, and Amazon) makes this a great, crowd-friendly pasta for the fall weather. Butternut squash and sage just make sense together. In my search for something meaty to add, I came upon a package of lap cheong in the pantry.

The pasta is pretty straightforward, requiring some simple prep work like chopping onions and mincing sage. You can boil the pasta noodles while the butternut squash is roasting in the oven. If you can't find lap cheong, any other sausage or bacon will do.

Pasta With Butternut Squash, Sage, and Chinese Sausage

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Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash

1 small sweet onion, peeled and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup fresh sage leaves, minced

1 pound farfalle pasta

8 ounces Chinese sausage, cooked and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

4 ounces Parmesan, shredded or shaved (about a cup total)

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the strings and seeds the middle cavity. Flip the squash halves upside down and peel them. Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes. Toss with the onion, garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Mince about half of the fresh sage leaves and also toss with the squash.

Spread the squash mixture in a thin layer on a large baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes or until the squash is soft.

Heat salted pasta water to boiling and cook the farfalle until al dente. Drain and set aside. 

In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, butternut squash, remaining sage, sausage, Parmesan, and a drizzle of oil. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.