Squash and Sage Pasta

This recipe was passed along by a good friend of mine, someone who knows so much more about food than me! Mercy knows a ton about food and also believes in cooking using only fresh, organic ingredients, especially when she's cooking for her two young children. So when she passed this recipe to me and said she cooked it for her kids, I knew I had to try it!

Right off the bat, I had to make a few alterations to it, simply because we didn't have the main ingredient - frozen pumpkin- in the house! First, I'll present the recipe as Mercy gave it to me. Then I'll post the recipe with my own alterations.

Ingredients:

Frozen squash (one 10oz bag for every 2 people).

Fresh or dried sage (at least 2 tbsp)

4 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp butter

Cooked pasta (bowties or penne)

Directions:

 

1. Cook the squash in a pan with  2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter.
   
2. Set aside in a dish.
   
3. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter in a pan.
4. Add in the sage and cook until the aromas are released.
5. Add in the squash mixture to sage. Stir to combine.
6. Toss the cooked pasta into the sauce mixture.
7. Salt and pepper to taste.

Now, as I mentioned, we didn't have frozen squash, so we had to change it up a little bit. Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 fresh squash 

Fresh sage (at least 2 tbsp)

4 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp butter

1 cup half and half cream

Cooked pasta - I used fresh ravioli stuffed with basil and romano cheese.

Directions:

1.  Cube the squash.
   
2. Set inside a microwavable bowl, half full with water.
3. Microwave on high for about 10 minutes, or until squash is soft enough to pierce with a fork.
4. Put the squash in a deep pan or wok with  2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter. 
   
5. Stir on medium heat while lightly mashing the squash.
6. Puree squash in a food processor. 
7. Set aside in a dish.
   
8. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter in a pan.
9. Add in the sage and cook until the aromas are released.
10. Add in the squash mixture to sage. Stir to combine.
11. Fold in the cream and stir to combine.
12. Salt and pepper to taste.
13. Toss the cooked pasta into the sauce mixture.

So essentially, the recipes are the same, with just a few alterations. 

Another change I would make next time is to use only 1/2 cup of cream, and use 1/2 to 3/4 cup of vegetable broth to thin the sauce a bit. The sauce came out really thick!

However, I would definitely NOT change the combination of the sage, butter, and squash... It was so sweet and so flavourful! This is definitely going to become a staple recipe.