“I’m not a chef, I’m Italian”- David Rocco


Saturday, October 6, 2012

Fall Medley Pasta

Ciao lovely readers! For me, pasta has always been my go to comfort food (besides chocolate, but then again, who isn't comforted by chocolate?!?!) So when I am craving something cozy and yummy, I turn to pasta.

The other night in New York, it was a dark, gloomy and rainy evening. It was the perfect night for comfort food. I had fresh mushrooms, butternut squash and sage. Do you see where I’m going with this? Fall Medley Pasta!! There is just something about the combination of earthy mushrooms, sweet butternut squash and fragrant sage that makes me crazy!! Plus, you prepare this with some delicious rotini and a splash of cream….oh my. This pasta dish will satisfy everyone at your table. It’s a wonderful mix of flavors and textures. It’s just incredible; I promise that you will love it.

Fall Medley Pasta


6 tbsp. Olive oil
1 butternut squash- peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
1 pack of fresh mushrooms
Salt
Pepper
Sage (some people can find sage very intense, so you pick exactly how much you want to use)
1 box of rotini
Cream (for just a splash!)

First, prepare a pan over medium heat with 2 tbsp. olive oil, a dash of salt and pepper (quanto basta) and add your already cut butternut squash cubes. Cook until tender for around 30 minutes, you don’t want them getting to soft and turning into mush.

While that is cooking, clean and slice your mushrooms. Prepare another pan over medium heat with 2 tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper and add the mushrooms. Cook for around 25 minutes.

In the mean time, start boiling your pasta water. While you are waiting for the water to boil, prepare another pan with 2 tbsp. olive oil. You are going to be frying your sage leaves, so wait until the olive is hot enough to fry.  Pick a large enough pan, since you will be using this to mix your pasta. Add your sage leaves to the pan. They will fry very quickly so stand by. Take the sage leaves out and put them on a plate with a napkin to absorb any excess oil.

Once the water is boiling, add your pasta. Once it is cooked, drain and add the pasta to the pan that you fried the sage in. Keep the pan on low heat. Add the butternut squash and mushrooms and mix. Make sure the olive oil coats all of the vegetables. Add a splash of cream, literally a splash! Mix again. Add the fried sage leaves to the pasta.  Let me know what you think. Buon Appetito!! 

2 comments:

  1. This sounds delicious! I note the portion size in the picture is much smaller than the typical American serving. This must be how Europeans stay slim compared to us Americans, we must emulate this so we can eat such tasty foods without getting fat(ter)! I also note the recipe calls for three pans plus a pot for pasta-yikes- too much to clean up! I would probably use one pan for the squash, mushrooms and sage,cook each individually and put in a serving bowl. When pasta is ready return everything to pan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks like yet another amazing dish!!! Judi I know what you mean about too many dishes used in this recipe (who doesn't hate the clean up), but if using separate pans help in bringing out the flavor of the dish then I'm all for it. All-in-all great recipe can not wait to try this one!!!

    ReplyDelete