Thursday, June 30, 2011

Penne with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese..yum!



This recipe turned out delicious! In order to make myself feel less guilty about eating pasta I substituted the penne with wheat pasta. Also, I added grilled chicken because I had leftover chicken from the night before.....talk about getting creative! The only bad thing about this recipe was the fact that I burned my arm on the oven...so that scar will be now named "butternut squash" and yes I name my scars.Don't forget to roast the walnuts in the oven before chopping them up and adding them in! Ohh and our friend Trader Joe sells pre-cut cubes of butternut squash...love that guy! I'm telling you, you will love this pasta! It has fresh basil (which smells amazing) and goat cheese ( never cared for goats until I had goat cheese..now I love those lil guys) and walnuts....okay here is the recipe, Enjoy:
Note: The portion was way too much (fed about 8), next time I'm going to cut everything in half.

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil cooking spray
  • 1 (2-pound) butternut or kombucha squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 1 onion, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
  • Olive oil, for drizzling
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound penne pasta
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted (see Cook's Note)
  • 1 packed cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan

Directions

Put an oven rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Spray a baking sheet, liberally, with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside.

Mix the squash and onion together and arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake for to 40 to 45 minutes until the vegetables are golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

While the squash mixture is cooling, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water. Put the pasta, goat cheese and 1 cup of pasta water in a large serving bowl. Toss until the cheese has melted and forms a creamy sauce. Add the squash and onion mixture, the walnuts and the basil. Toss well and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with Parmesan and serve.

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