Whenever I get my hands on acorn squash, I want to roast it.
Roasting brings out the sweet and nutty flavors of the squash that I absolutely love, and it’s also easy to throw in the oven and forget about for 45 minutes. It doesn’t need much additional work—simply olive oil, salt, and pepper usually do the trick.
There are enough roasted squash recipes on the internet, and so, I decided it’s time to take it a step further—by turning the squash into a creamy, luscious sauce flavored with blue cheese. Because blue cheese makes everything better. That’s basically my life’s motto.
I made enough of this sauce to feed six people but sadly, I was eating alone. Jason’s traveling for work and Theo goes to bed at seven. Baby loves squash though. Maybe next time I’ll wake him up for it.
So while I tossed about half of the sauce in with the pasta, I found myself with spoon in hand eating more straight out of the food processor bowl. Please send help.
Until then, happy fall eatin’.
- 1 small acorn squash, halved
- olive oil
- Kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup whole milk
- 4-6 ounces blue cheese, depending on how strong of a flavor you like
- 8 ounces pappardelle pasta
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 large shallots, sliced thin
- 6 sage leaves, minced
- 6 ounces baby spinach
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Place squash halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 40-45 minutes until tender.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and run pasta under cold water to stop cooking. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add shallots and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in sage and cook for additional minute. Lower heat, add spinach and cook until wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Add cooked pasta. Set aside.
- Once squash has finished roasting, scoop out flesh and measure out 1 cup. Transfer 1 cup squash to food processor and add whole milk and blue cheese. Puree until smooth. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. If mixture feels too thick, add additional milk. If too thin, add more squash.
- Pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat. Serve with freshly ground black pepper and additional sage.
Having a Pavlovian response to these photos.
writes WhitneyThat may be the best compliment anyone has ever given me.
writes Vicky