Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Penne Pasta

By Kerstin • March 11, 2010 • 3 Comments

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Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Penne Pasta — 1 of 2 Photo by Kerstin

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Author Notes: One of my favorite dishes at Giacomo's, our favorite Italian restaurant in Boston's North End, is an addicting butternut squash ravioli served with a mascarpone cream sauce and asparagus. I was really inspired by the butternut squash and pasta pairing, but wanted to lighten things up a bit, so I made a sauce of roasted butternut squash, spinach, buttermilk, and rosemary, and then tossed it with whole wheat pasta. - Kerstin

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
1 cup chopped shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Dip a pastry brush in olive oil and evenly brush flesh side of the squash halves; place flesh side down on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400˚F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. Let squash cool for 10 minutes. Remove flesh from the squash halves with a spoon and mash with a fork until smooth (my yield was 2 cups).
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta in a colander, return it to the pot, and keep warm.
Heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet and cook shallots for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 additional minute. Add spinach and roasted mashed butternut squash to the pan. Stir in buttermilk, milk, rosemary, and salt and stir until smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix pasta and sauce until the sauce evenly coats all the ingredients. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over each serving. Makes 6 servings.