Butternut squash pasta with caramelized onion, browned butter sauce
This dish goes perfectly with a crisp autumn night, fresh baked bread, and apple cider. The full fall package! The slight sweetness of the sauce, compliments the butternut squash! Top it all off with walnuts and fresh parmesan…it doesn’t get better!
Ingredients
For the roasted squash
- 1 small butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the caramelized onion browned butter sauce
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small sweet onion diced into small pieces
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2-1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp ground sage
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter (I like the Tilamook Sea Salt Extra Creamy butter)
- 10-15 fresh sage leaves
- 16 oz bow tie pasta (or pasta of choice)
Garnish
- Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- Walnuts (pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, or pecans work great as well)
Instructions
For the squash
- Preheat your oven to 450. If your oven has a roast option, select that setting! Line a baking sheet with tinfoil, spray with cooking spray.In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, and salt and pepper. Toss cubed squash into mixture. Spread out on prepared pan, and roast for 30-45 minutes. You want the squash to be tender and have some darkness around the edges. In a medium pot, boil the pasta until al dente. Leave in water until ready to add to sauce.
For the sauce
- Cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a large skillet. Cook until onions are soft and translucent. About 10-15 minutes on medium-low heat. Stirring frequently. Turn heat to low. Add in nutmeg, rubbed sage, brown sugar, and salt and pepper. Stir with a whisk and keep heat on low. You don’t want the brown sugar to harden so keep stirring! Once the onion mixture is slightly boiling, add in butter. Whisk until butter is melted. Turn heat up to medium and keep stirring for 5 minutes. Mixture should be at a slight boil, don’t stop whisking. Add in fresh sage leaves and let cook for a few minutes. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little pasta water to loosen it up. Add noodles and squash to the sauce and toss. Too with Parmesan cheese and walnuts. Enjoy!
