Butternut Squash Sauce on Gnocchi

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My plan was to use the second half of the butternut squash I used to make Callaloo and make a sauce to serve on Gnocchi. It seemed like a good idea because I had gnocchi in my pantry. 

Gnocchi isn’t something I usually keep in my pantry, but I read an article about the 10 things great chefs always have in their pantry. One of the items was shelf stable gnocchi. For the record, the chefs can keep it. It had a stale and taste and a stodgy mouthfeel. Maybe I just don’t like gnocchi that much or I need to try another brand, but I won’t make that one again. 

The sauce, on the other hand was wonderful. I will be making butternut cream sauce again and putting it on another kind of pasta. I think it would be great on some Cavatappi and topped with braised spinach and mushrooms. I’ll work on that. 

Anyway, here is the recipe I used for the pasta sauce. 

Butternut Cream Sauce on Pasta (if you like gnocchi, don’t let me stand in your way – have at it‼)

Yield: 2-4 servings

Special tools: Stick Blender or just serve it lumpy, it will still be delicious

Ingredients:

6 oz dried pasta 

½ med butternut squash, cubed and roasted

1 tbsp butter

1 med shallot, diced finely

4 clvs garlic, minced

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup vegetable broth

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ cup grated parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

If your squash isn’t already roasted, peel, seed and cut it into cubes. Toss it in oil and salt, put it on a sheet pan and roast it at 350° for 30-40 minutes. When it’s done there should be little toasty corners. 

Fill your favorite pasta pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil. When it starts to boil, add you pasta and cook according to package instructions. 

Put the butter in a large skillet and sauté your shallots and garlic. Add the squash and continue to stir it. When everything is cooking and blended together, add the broth, heavy cream and pepper flakes. When this is blended together, use your stick blender to blend it into a smoother consistency. You could also just mash the large pieces of squash with the back of your spoon. (I did a combination of both, and the consistency wasn’t completely smooth.)

When the pasta is al dente, add it to the sauce with tongs or a spider, preserving your pasta water. Toss the pasta to coat it in the cream sauce. 


Add the parmesan and continue to stir and toss the pasta. If the sauce gets too thick, add some of your pasta water and continue to stir (I ended up using about ¾ cup of pasta water). The parmesan should completely dissolve into the sauce. 

Serve this dish with shrimp or a fish filet. You could do a salad, but the sauce is full of veggies so it isn’t entirely necessary.


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