Pasta with Sweet-Roasted Butternut Squash and Kale – Revisited

I have been revisiting some of my early posts. Tonight I made this pasta with sweet-roasted butternut squash and kale. It was delicious, was a big hit for dinner. The only difference was that this time I omitted the half and half. As I thought, it ends up that it really wasn’t a necessary ingredient. I definitely preferred it without any added cream.

So, here’s the original post, just a bit annotated.

Thanks again to Highland Orchards for beautiful pesticide-free butternut squash and kale. (If you are in northern Delaware, this is a GREAT place to get fruits and vegetables).

The inspiration for this dish came from The Splendid Table’s Sweet Roaster Butternut Squash and Greens Over Bow-Tie Pasta. I really like the sweetness that recipe brings to the roasted vegetables, but not the very creamy sauce. So, I adjusted the ingredients and technique to what works for me and came up with a lighter dish that received rave reviews at dinner!

I mean, really, how can you resist colors like these?

Pasta with Sweet-Roasted Butternut Squash and Kale

Adapted from The Splendid Table’s Sweet Roaster Butternut Squash and Greens Over Bow-Tie Pasta.

1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into bite-sized chunks (from Highland Orchards)

1 medium to large onion, cut into 1-inch chunks

3 cups kale, washed, dried, and torn into small pieces (from Highland Orchards)

4 large garlic cloves, coarse chopped

1/3 cup good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp demerara sugar

Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper

12 oz bow-tie pasta

1 Tsbp high-quality extra-virgin olive oil

1 – 2 Tbsp half and half. (Omit)

1 cup Balsamic BellaVitano cheese, shredded (or parmigiano reggiano)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a large bowl, toss together the squash, onion, kale, garlic, !/3 cup oil, pepper flakes, sugar salt and pepper.

Spread the vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet. (For ease later, separate the kale on one side).

Roast for 25 minutes, or until the squash is tender, turning the vegetables two or three times during roasting. Remove the kale (when it is cooked).

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander.

Turn on the broiler to caramelize it the squash. Watch the vegetables closely, turning as needed. Anticipate about 5 – 8 minutes under the broiler. You want crusty brown edges on the squash. (I found this step to be unnecessary, the squash caramelized just fine when I let it cook the 5 extra minutes).