Recipe: Orecchiette with Butternut Squash and Sage

A nice, multi-textured hit of fall flavor that's a breeze to pull off, from "Martha Stewart's Newlywed Kitchen: Recipes for Weeknight Dinners & Easy, Casual Gathers" by the Editors of Martha Stewart Living.

"The only time-consuming part is prepping the squash," they write. "We love the unexpected mix of ingredients: The dish brings together tender pasta, creamy ricotta (instead of the usual brown butter), and fried sage leaves, a combination inspired by a pumpkin ravioli dish one of our food editors had in Siena, Italy."

       
Orecchiette with Butternut Squash and Sage
Serves 2

Ingredients:

Coarse salt
6 ounces orecchiette
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
½ small butternut squash, halved and peeled, seeds and pulp scooped and reserved, flesh cut into ½-inch cubes (2 cups)
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons packed fresh sage leaves
⅔ cup whole-milk ricotta cheese, for serving

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup pasta water; drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium. Add squash seeds and pulp. Cook, stirring occasionally, until seeds puff and turn golden, about 10 minutes. Season with salt; transfer to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon butter to skillet; melt. Add sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to another plate. Add squash cubes to skillet. Season with salt, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in pasta, ¼ cup reserved pasta water, and remaining ½ tablespoon butter. Simmer until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes. Add more pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time, until pasta is evenly coated; season with salt. Divide among bowls and top with squash seeds, sage leaves, and ricotta. Drizzle with oil and serve.

   
Reprinted from "Martha Stewart's Newlywed Kitchen: Recipes for Weeknight Dinners & Easy, Casual Gathers" by the Editors of Martha Stewart Living. Copyright © 2017 by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Photographs by Stephen Kent Johnson. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

       
For more info:

• "Martha Stewart's Newlywed Kitchen: Recipes for Weeknight Dinners & Easy, Casual Gathers" by the Editors of Martha Stewart Living (Clarkson Potter), in Hardcover and eBook Formats. Available via Amazon
  

      
For more food suggestions check out our 2017 "Food Issue" recipe index!