The flavors combine for something really special. You can leave out the sausage if you want to make this vegetarian. And for the pesto, I have a recipe in the "sauce" section I like a lot or you can even use a store bought version.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
8-12 ounces pasta (penne works well, or another small cut version)
8 oz. sausage
Pesto sauce (see note above)
Fresh grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Peel the butternut squash. Remove the seeds and cut the flesh into 1-inch pieces. Spread out on baking sheets and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. You want the pieces to lay flat on the baking sheet so use two sheets if needed to prevent crowding. Place in oven and cook for about 30 minutes, tossing the squash on occasion, until golden brown and tender.
While squash cooks, bring a large pot of boiled water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the instructions on the package but a minute or so less to make sure it's al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water before you drain it.
While pasta cooks, brown the sausage, crumbling it into bite-sized pieces. Blot off as much of the grease as you can with paper towels.
Toss together the drained pasta, the pesto sauce, the butternut squash and the sausage. Pour in some of the pasta water if need to loosen it all up so the pasta gets well coated.
Serve the pasta with some fresh parmesan and salt and pepper on top.
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