Pasta with Butternut Squash Cream Sauce

I was pondering what to do with half of a butternut squash I had left and decided to use it with pasta.  After some consideration and an internet search this is what I came up with.

With this recipe, the flavor of the butternut squash and the cheese blend in a rich creamy bit of goodness.  The cheese you use it up to you though a hard cheese like Parmesan or Asiago will do best.  I used Asiago because it was the first one I saw in the cheese drawer of the refrigerator.

Butternut Squash Cream Sauce

3 cups cubed butternut squash
8 oz bacon, cut in 1/2 inch lardons
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 - 4 oz Asiago cheese, grated
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 - 3/4 cup heavy cream
6 sage leaves, fresh
1 tsp thyme leave, fresh
salt
pepper
6 - 8 oz dry spaghetti

Cook the pasta according to package direction.  Slowly cook the bacon in a deep skillet until the fat has rendered and it's almost crispy.  Remove the bacon to a bowl.  Add the onion and garlic to the bacon grease and sauté 2 - 3 minutes.  Add the butternut squash and stir then cook 4 - 5 minutes.  Add 1 tsp each of salt and pepper.  Add the white wine, sage leaves, and thyme then stir.  Let the wine cook down then add the chicken broth.  Let it simmer until the chicken broth is reduced by half.  Remove from heat and let cool a bit.  After it has cooled some, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.  You may need to break it down into smaller batches.  Return to heat and bring to simmer.  Add the heavy cream and stir.  Stir in the grated cheese until melted and well incorporated into the sauce.  Stir in the reserved bacon.  Taste and add more salt if desired.  Once the pasta is finished cooking, add it to the sauce and mix well.  This will serve 3 - 4 people.

I was able to blend in one go since we have the Vitamix.  With the Vitamix running I was able to add the heavy cream followed by the Asiago in small chunks.  I used 4 oz of Asiago and 1/2 cup heavy cream initially.  After tasting, both the good wife and I liked it but I thought it could be a little better.  I added a heavy pinch of salt and another 1/4 cup heavy cream.  That slight change greatly boosted the flavor.

A rich tasty supper

I'd also made fresh bread from a No-knead recipe I've adapted to my own needs.  It is simple and you can make just about any crusty bread with this recipe.

Crusty Bread

3 1/2 cups break flour
13 oz warm water, 110 - 115F
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt

Put the yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl and pour in the warm water.  Stir and let sit for 5 - 10 minutes.  Add the flour and stir until is makes a soft dough.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the oven with the light on.  Let rise for 90 minutes.  Sprinkle a little flour around the edge of the bowl then use your spoon to push the dough away from the edge of the bowl then roll the dough ball around the bowl.  Dump out on a floured surface and cut into 2 - 3 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a long rope and place on a parchment paper covered sheet tray.  Repeat for the rest of the dough.  Cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes.  After the 2nd rise, make 3 diagonal cuts in the top of each loaf.  Put into 400F oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

This bread is great for soaking up the leftover butternut squash cream sauce.  These two are perfect together.  Give these a try and let me know what you think.

Uncle T

Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Shrimp in a White Wine Butter Sauce

I know I've done pasta posts but this is a bit different.  Some time back, I gave away my hand cranked pasta roller because we came across a good deal on the pasta roller attachment to the KitchenAid stand mixer.  This was the first time I've made pasta since buying that roller.  I must say, having two hands to work the pasta dough and being able to adjust the thickness knob on the fly make a huge difference.  As an extra, the grandbaby liked watching me run the dough through the roller.


I used my usual pasta recipe for the ravioli since I've found no need to try another.  To form the ravioli I used my Fantes Grandpa Dante's Ravioli Maker to make the ravioli.  I can recommend this ravioli maker without reservation. 

Ravioli filled and ready to cover

Besides the pasta, you'll need some roasted butternut squash.  In case you've never roasted butternut squash I'll include how I do it.  Cut the squash into 1/2 - 3/4 inch rounds.  Cut the rounds in half.  The skin can now be easily cut from the half round.  Cut the half round in half again cutting parallel to the initial cut.  Cut those pieces into cubes that are approximately the same size on all sides.  Put in a bowl until the whole squash is cubed.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss.  Add salt and pepper and toss.  Dump onto a baking sheet and spread out then place in a pre-heated 425F oven.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn the squash cubes.  Return pan of squash to the oven and cook another 10 minutes or until the desired degree of caramelization is achieved.  Remove from oven and  serve.

Boil in salted water

I used left over roasted butternut squash to make the ravioli.  I only had about a cup or so left over.  I warmed them up and mashed with a fork and called it good.  I used a slightly under filled #70 portion dipper to fill the ravioli.  I've since bought a #100 to be able to fill the ravioli without having to estimate the fill with the #70.

All sauced up and ready to serve

I rolled the pasta dough out to the #5 thickness with the KitchenAid pasta roller.  I didn't want to get too thin and risk the ravioli breaking.  Next time I think I'll go to #6 on the thickness to make the ravioli a bit lighter.  What seemed to work best was to roll out the two sheets for the top and bottom of the ravioli before starting to make it.  The first batch I rolled out the bottom sheet and put it on the form then rolled out the top.  Once the bottom sheet is on the ravioli form, use the mold to push down and form the pocket.  Put in the filling, making sure to not get it on the edges of the ravioli.  Place the top sheet of pasta over the form and press down.  Then roll over the form with a rolling pin to seal the ravioli and cut through the pasta.  Turn the form upside down over a lightly floured sheet pan and gently push the ravioli out of the form.  Add the ravioli to boiling water and cook about 5 minutes.

Plated up ready to eat

The shrimp and white wine butter sauce is fairly simple.  I used 36-41 size shrimp because that is what I had in the freezer.  Once thawed, I removed the tails and did a dry brine with a mix of salt and sugar for about 10 minutes.  Melt 4 Tbs of butter is a large skillet and add the shrimp.  Once the shrimp are half done, turn then add the white wine.  I eye balled it but used about 1/2 cup of white wine.  Once the wine has cooked down and the shrimp are done add another 2 - 3 Tbs of butter and add the ravioli.  Stir/toss the ravioli into the shrimp and the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens a bit.  The flour in the pasta water should help this.  If it doesn't thicken to your satisfaction you can use a little corn starch mixed in water to thicken the sauce.  Plate the ravioli with some shrimp and the white wine butter sauce and grate or shave some Parmesan cheese over the top.  Some crusty bread or a light salad is all you need to accompany this for a good meal.

A nicely filled ravioli

Give this a try and let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Spaetzle Gratin with Mushrooms and Butternut Squash

I was looking at recipes using spaetzle the other day and came across some for spaetzle gratins.  The German recipes typically had bacon and cheese, sautéed onions and cheese, or spinach and cheese added to the spaetzle.  I came across a French recipe, at least it was written in French, for a spaetzle gratin with mushrooms and pumpkin.  I thought that one sounded interesting so I made sure to remember it.  I didn't find anything like it among the Ukrainian, Hungarian, and other countries that have spaetzle recipes.

Time to add the cheese

Over the weekend I decided I'd make this dish for supper on Monday night.  The first change that was made was substituting butternut squash for the pumpkin.  Why do this?  I had a butternut squash sitting on the counter ready to use.  Other changes were to get the flavor to suit us better.  Like I've said before, recipes are a suggestion or a source of ideas for me.

Ready for the oven

Spaetzle is easy to make and has been detailed here, http://uncletskitchen.blogspot.com/2015/07/venison-rouladen-with-spaetzle.html.  If you don't want to make it yourself, dried spaetzle can be found in the international section of most grocery stores.  We've eaten the dry spaetzle many times and it is fine.  To me, fresh pasta is always better than dried flavor wise but there is nothing wrong with dried pasta.  I still have boxes of dried pasta in the cabinet.

Another interesting issue, to me at least, that came up was the base recipe had the ingredients in grams and centiliters.  I have a good scale and weighed the spaetzle, mushrooms, and butternut squash.  I did a conversion to get the centiliters to ounces for the cream and just eyeballed the grated cheese for the top.

Spaetzle Gratin with Mushrooms and Butternut Squash

24 oz cooked spaetzle, cooled

16 oz mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick

16 oz butternut squash, diced 1/2 inch

7 oz cream

1/4 cup brandy

butter

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup grated Swiss cheese

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

salt

pepper

garlic powder

nutmeg

Place the cooled spaetzle in a large bowl.  Melt butter in a hot skillet and add the sliced mushrooms then season with salt and pepper.  Once the mushrooms have started to brown and have released some liquid add the brandy.  Mix well and allow the brandy to cook off.  Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and add to the bowl with the spaetzle.  Add some butter to the skillet if necessary and put in the butternut squash then season with nutmeg, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Cook until the squash is soft and there is some brown on parts of them.  Remove from the skillet and add to the spaetzle.  Thoroughly mix the spaetzle, mushrooms, and butternut squash and taste a bite containing all three.   Add any seasoning if needed.  Add the grated Parmesan to the bowl and mix well.  Pour into a 9x13 pan and pour the cream over it then top with the grated Swiss and Cheddar cheeses.  Bake in 350F oven for 30 minutes.  This will serve about 6 people.

Spaetzle Gratin hot from the oven

This would be good as a stand alone dish or as a side with a good spicy Germany sausage.  We had some homemade Mettwurst with it.  I didn't think about it until we were finished but some sauerkraut would have gone good with this to help cut the richness of both the sausage and the gratin.  Since this was the last of my Mettwurst, the rest will be eaten with pork chops or a pork roast.

Spaetzle Gratin, home fermented Sauerkraut, Mettwurst

The other significant changes I made to the base recipe were adding the Parmesan cheese and the cooking method for the squash.  The Parmesan cheese was not in the recipe I'd found but I thought the additional flavor profile would be worth it.  The original recipe, the one that had pumpkin, called for the pumpkin to be steamed then seasoned with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.  Obviously, frying in butter with the seasonings and getting some browning on the squash added more layers of flavor and made the butternut squash shine.

So if you're wanting a gratin for supper but are tired of the same old potatoes au gratin give a spaetzle gratin a try.  Let me know how it turns out.


Uncle T

Butternut Squash Two Ways and Pan Fried Salmon

A week or so ago we made the drive back to Tennessee to visit family.  We carried a couple of boxes of goodies for family members.  We took stuff from our garden that the good wife had canned, pickles, pinkeye purple hull peas, black berry preserves, etc.  I took some samples of my bacon and sausage.  This is a variation on my childhood memories.  It seems like every time we visited my maternal grandparents we ended up with jars of preserves or containers of frozen corn or peas.  Then, my grandparents had the most productive garden and now I seem to have the most productive garden.


We did bring some stuff back courtesy of the good wife's sister.  From her garden we had some butternut squash and some purple peppers.  The peppers were sweet with a nice fresh flavor.  I much prefer their flavor over green bell peppers.  They are excellent sliced thinly and added to a salad.  I need to try to find them for my garden next year.  We also brought home a loaf of homemade sour dough bread.  I must say, that is some most excellent bread and she has been making it as long as I can remember.

A nice purple bell pepper

For the butternut squash I was wanting to do something different.  I know, there is nothing wrong with roasted butternut squash but there has to be more variety.  An idea came to me while I was watching SEC football on Saturday afternoon.  A quick Google search didn't turn up anything like it so I had my dish.  What I came up with was butternut squash waffle fries.  That accounted for the solid neck portion of the squash and the rest was cubed up and saved for another meal.

Butternut squash waffle fries and Pan fried salmon

The two meals with the butternut squash also featured pan fried salmon.  I first came across this method 8 or 9 years ago while we were living in Texas.  I don't remember if I found it online or saw it on TV.  What I like about this method is it's quick, gives nice crispy salmon skin, and it's easy to get the salmon to your desired level of doneness.  As a bonus, if desired you can use the butter and salmon juices left in the skillet as the base for a pan sauce to pour over the salmon.


Pan Fried Salmon


1 skin on fillet per person
1 stick butter, softened
kosher salt
pepper

Make sure the scales are off the salmon skin.  Pat dry both the flesh side and the skin side of the fillets.  Leave skin side up.  Coat the skin with a layer of the softened butter. Sprinkle some kosher salt all over the butter coating then add a little pepper.  Lay the fillets in a hot skillet skin side down and sprinkle additional salt and pepper on the flesh side.  When the cooked line is about halfway up the fillet, gently flip it over.  The skin should me nicely browned and crisp.  When the cooked lines meet in the middle the salmon is done.  The salmon will be completely done and flaky but will still be moist.

To make a pan sauce to pour over, add 2 - 3 more tablespoons of butter to the skillet.  Once it has melted and is sizzling, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of bourbon to the skillet.  If you want to be dramatic and can safely do so, you can burn off the alcohol.  If you don't think you can safely do it then just let the mixture simmer for a couple of minutes.  Once the alcohol has burned off, add 1 Tbs of mustard and 1 1/2 tsp honey to the skillet.  Stir to combine and let simmer until reduced to the consistency you want.  Spoon over each fillet.

Fried butternut squash, pan fried salmon with pan sauce, fresh salad

Butternut Squash Waffle Fries


1 Butternut Squash neck, peeled
oil
salt


Using the waffle blade on a mandolin, cut the squash using the smallest thickness possible.  Once the squash is sliced, let is sit until the oil gets hot.  I used my outdoor fryer with peanut oil and got the oil to 375F.  Immerse the waffle cut squash in the oil and fry until browned.  Drain well and lightly sprinkle with salt.  Serve and enjoy.

Fried Butternut Squash


1 Butternut squash, cubed.  In this case I used just the seed end of the squash.
bacon grease
salt
pepper
roasted cumin


Season the cubed butternut squash with salt, pepper, and roasted cumin.  Heat bacon grease in a skillet, use 2 - 3 Tbs.  Once hot, add the squash and give it a good shake.  Let the squash cook until it starts to brown then toss the skillet to get the squash flipped.  Continue cooking until the desired level of brown is reached.  Serve and enjoy.


Both these ways of cooking butternut squash are tasty departures from the norm.  The waffle fries weren't even thickness due to the difficulty of getting it to cut smoothly.  As a result, many of them were crispy on one part and crispy with a soft inside at the other.  The little bit of salt was just enough to emphasize the sweetness of the squash.  The cubed squash had a similar texture all the way through but the addition of the cumin and the flavor imparted from the bacon grease made the flavor something else.  Both of these methods will be put to use again.  I don't usually grow winter squash but I may need to next year.


The salmon and butternut squash, either way, would be good accompanied by a salad.  The salmon and cubed squash was accompanied by a simple salad.  The salad was Romaine, Red Leaf lettuce, sliced onion, sliced purple sweet peppers, sliced carrots, tossed with apple cider vinegar salad dressing and topped with freshly fried bacon pieces.  Given the time of year, only the pepper was home grown.


Give this salmon and these butternut squash recipes a try in your kitchen.  I think you'll be pleased with the results.  If you do try them, let me know what you think.


Uncle T