Main
Smoked Garlic Squash and Crispy Sage Pasta
Butternut squash makes a wonderfully creamy sauce with our Smoked Garlic Paste. Tossed with pasta and crispy sage, the acidity of lemon and the crunch of seeds elevates this surprisingly easy midweek meal.
Method
- Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180C / 350f. Prepare the squash by removing the skin and seeds. Halve, chopping one half into 1cm cubes, and the other half into quarters, and then 1cm slices.
- Toss the slices in oil and place in a baking tray. Tear a few leaves of the sage and sprinkle over, then season well and place in the oven to roast for 30-40 minutes.
- Whilst the squash is roasting, add a generous glug of oil to heavy based pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Drop in the remaining sage leaves for approximately 30 seconds, until crispy but still green. Remove from the pan, reserving the flavoured oil.
- Add the onion to the sage oil and cook gently for 10 minutes. Once translucent, add the smoked garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes before adding the cubed squash.
- Turn the heat up to fry the squash for a minute, mixing well with the onion and garlic, before pouring in the stock. Continue to cook on a high heat for 15-20 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Whilst the squash is cooking, boil a pan of salted water and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, then drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water. Toast the seeds or nuts.
- Once the squash has cooked into the stock, add the pasta to the pan. Pour in a little of the reserved pasta water and bring to a simmer. Mix gently, using the pasta water to loosen the squash sauce and create a gloss. Squeeze over the lemon juice and season well.
- To serve, spoon into bowls and top with the roasted squash and crispy sage. Sprinkle over the lemon zest and toasted seeds, and season again with salt and pepper.
