Friday, April 2, 2010

Bacon, Blue, and Butternut Pasta

This was my first time cooking butternut squash this way (thanks for the tip, Kelly) and it turned out yummy. This was also a first in terms of putting all of the following on pasta: bacon, blue cheese, and squash...I am usually not very experimental when it comes to pasta. I had never tried heating blue cheese, but it got nice and melty and added great flavor...however, I LOVE blue cheese.
 Ingredients

-10  oz  uncooked fettuccine
~6  turkey bacon slices (you could easily omit this to make it vegetarian)
-2  T EVOO
~3  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
-2  garlic cloves, minced
~1/2  C  crumbled blue cheese
-1 bunch sliced green onions (I forgot to add this, but think it would be nice)
-salt, to taste

Steps
1. Peel and dice your butternut squash. This takes a bit of time. I recommend cutting the squash into workable pieces, then carefully slicing off the skin with a sharp knife.

2. Cook your pasta al dente in salted water; reserve about 1/3 C cooking liquid. Set pasta aside, but maybe toss with a little EVOO so noodles don't stick together.
3. Cook your turkey bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble, set aside.
4. Use your same bacon-ed up pan, and add 2 T EVOO and then saute your butternut squash for about 10 minutes or until tender. (I put a lid over my pan while cooking to help steam the squash.)
5. Add garlic; cook 1 minute stirring constantly.
6. Stir in pasta, cooking liquid, cheese, and some salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
7. Top with crumbled bacon and green onion.

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