Pasta with Roasted Onion and Butternut Squash

I’ve been meaning to share this recipe with you for  some time.  I just haven’t been able to find time to sit down and properly post it.   I’ve had every intention, but time has slipped away from me lately.  How many days until summer?

So….I made this dish for my family’s Easter shindig.  Shortly there after, the daily phone calls from my mother began.  “When can I get the recipe of the dish you brought”?  Since tomorrow is Mother’s Day, I’m carving out some time to put this Saturday post together.  Besides, I think she has talked it up in her neighborhood.  Even promising the recipe to a couple of her close friends.  I don’t want to let her down, it’s Mother Day.

I’m glad she thinks this pasta recipe is a keeper.  It truly has restaurant quality flavor.  It is a family favorite here at Sugar and Spice head quarters.

Let’s start off by grabbing a tissue and chopping some onions.

I like sweet Maui onions.

If you can’t find a Maui onion, no worries, a yellow onion will do.

Cut the onion into 1/2” chop pieces, like so.

Next, take 1 pound of cubed butternut squash (I always try to find the pre cut stuff – so much easier and a huge time saver).  Mix the squash and onions together and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle/coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes until the vegetables are golden and cooked through.

Meanwhile have your pot of boiling salted water ready.  You really should add a bit of salt to the water so it tastes like water from the ocean. This goes along with seasoning each layer of food you prepare.  Cooking pasta in salted water allows the pasta to absorb some of the salt and not taste bland.  This step cannot be corrected by salting the pasta later or adding salt to the sauce.  All you will end up with is bland pasta with a salty exterior.

Add your pasta, either penne or zita, add cook until al dente per the box instructions.

While the water is a boiling and the veggies are a roasting, grab your basil leaves.

Chiffonade a good 1 cup of those leaves.  Set them aside.

Now let’s move onto the cheese. I use what ever I have on hand. Today it was Mascarpone and Feta.

For Easter I used Mascarpone and Cream Cheese (I added a little extra cream cheese to appeal to the little people).  For a big wow and zip you could try a Cypress Chever Goat Cheese. {TIP: Be sure to take the cheese out of the fridge and warm up before you start the recipe.}

When the pasta is done.  Before you drain it, grab a cup or two of the boiling water. Be careful friends – hotsie totsie.

Next add it to your room temperature cheese and whisk it all together ~ well.

Next drain your pasta and add it to the cheese sauce.

Now grab those roasted vegetables and add them to the pot. {Note to my Mom: for Easter I used more Roasted Onion than Squash. I would say, two onions with 1/4 lb squash ratio.}

Also add your basil and toasted walnuts. (To toast the walnuts, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven until lightly toasted, about 6 to 8 minutes.   Cool completely before using.)

Mix.

Finish with ample shredded Parmesan.  Pretty please, not the stuff that comes in a green can. {another note to Mom: for Easter, the wee people were offered proportion without nuts and basil}

Delish.

If I didn’t have to share, I would eat the entire serving bowl myself.

Easily.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom.

See you a brunch tomorrow.