I'm a sucker for any pasta dish. With the versatility of a tomato sauce, creamy sauce, or even a casserole, there's something for every day of the week!
This Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara is ultra creamy with yummy butternut squash and salty bacon. Best of all, most of the ingredients cook in the same pan! You'll love this dinnertime sensation.
Ingredients:
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 (1 3/4 lb) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (14.5 ounces) can low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 14 ounces dry linguine
- 1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Directions:
Cook bacon in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (reducing heat slightly if needed) until browned and crisp. Remove bacon from skillet while leaving 2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat in skillet, transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside
Add onions and rosemary to drippings in skillet and saute over medium-high heat 2 minutes, then add squash, season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally 7 minutes (onions should be beginning to brown lightly). Pour in chicken broth, and bring to a boil, cover and cook until squash is soft and broth has reduced, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and nutmeg.
Meanwhile, cook linguine to al dente in a large pot of salted water according to directions on package. Drain and reserve 1 cup pasta water.
Let simmered squash mixture cool for a few minutes then transfer mixture to a blender (reserve skillet) and add cream to blender (with hot liquids your blender should be no more than half full so if you have a smaller blender work in two batches), cover with lid then remove the center insert. While holding a folded kitchen towel over lid blend mixture until smooth.
In reserved skillet combine drained pasta, pureed squash mixture, and 1/4 cup reserved pasta water. Cook over medium heat, tossing and adding in more pasta water to thin as needed, until sauce coats pasta, about 2 minutes. Toss in 1/3 cup Parmesan, season with salt and pepper to taste. Plate and serve pasta topped with Parmesan, bacon, sage and more pepper.