Fall Flavors: Butternut Squash Rigatoni

Butternut Squash Rigatoni, courtesy of Rachael Ray's show 30-minute meals, paired with Honeycrisp apples

I adjusted a few things when I made the recipe so my version is shown below. For the original recipe, as seen on 30-minute meals, be sure to click here. 

Ingredients:

• A 2-pound butternut squash: cubed, roasted, and pureed (or you can take the easy route and buy one 10-ounce box frozen butternut squash puree)
• 1 pound rigatoni
• salt and pepper
• 1 Tablespoon (TBS) Extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• 2 TBS thyme
• 1/2 of an onion (add up to a whole onion if you so desire)
• 4 TBS butter
• 3 TBS flour
• 2 cups milk
• nutmeg
• 2 cups cheddar cheese

Serves 6. 

Directions:

Butternut Squash Puree
If you are using a frozen squash puree, you will need to defrost it and place the contents of the package in a strainer to drain. But, it you want to roast and puree the squash yourself (I highly recommend this!), here are the instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel, seed, and cut the butternut squash into 1-inch cubes.
3. Toss the squash with 2 TB olive oil and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Season with salt and black pepper.
4. Arrange the coated squash on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until squash is tender and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Half of this will be pureed and added to the sauce later on.

--MEANWHILE, WORK ON THE PASTA, MEAT, AND BASE OF THE SAUCE--

Pasta
5. Put some water to boil on the stove. When the water is ready, cook the pasta to al dente, about 7-8 minutes, straining out the water when done.

Meat
6. Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook till browned.
7. Add 3-4 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2 an onion (chopped up into fine pieces), and thyme. Cook until the onions are tender, about 5-6 minutes.
8. Deglaze the pan by adding 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the contents; scrape off the little brown bits from the bottom of the pan, mixing it with the chicken stock, veggies, and meat. This will help ensure you collect ALL the flavor from the pan.

Sauce

9. Melt 4 TBS of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
10. Whisk in 3 TBS flour for 1 minute.
11. Whisk in 2 cups milk, and season with salt, pepper, and a healthy amount of nutmeg. Let the base thicken until it coats a spoon.
--THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH SHOULD BE DONE ROASTING BY NOW--
12. Grab half of the roasted, cubed squash (setting aside the remaining squash) and toss it in a food processor, along with 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Blend until smooth.
13. Stir the puree into the sauce base and bring the sauce back to a light bubble.

Honeycrisp apples are So deliciously sweet, and VERY large, too (here the
honeycrisp is seen next to a granny smith apple,  which pales in comparison)! 

14. Mix in the 2 cups of cheddar cheese, letting it melt into an ooey-gooey, amazing sauce! (Taste test now just to prove how amazingly tasty this sauce is!)

Combine!
15. Toss the pasta, sauce, and meat mixture together!
16. You should still have half a roasted butternut squash; you can either serve it alongside the pasta, or mix it in with the pasta (I recommend the latter--the big chunks of squash add a burst of color and flavor to every bite!).

On the side...
17. Chop up a beautiful honeycrisp apple. Plate it alongside this fall-flavored, comfort food!
18. Enjoy!!





Thanks for reading! Stay-tuned for more fall favorites throughout the coming weeks!