One of the best things about fall is the winter squash (aka pumpkins) with my favourite variety being the butternut squash! I like butternut squash both for it’s amazing flavour and ease of use, with it being easy to peel and having less seeds to remove. Although pumpkin is great in sweet dishes, it’s also fabulous in savoury dishes and I am currently crushing on using it as the base of a sauce for things like this Roasted Butternut Squash and Sausage Tortellini. The sauce is made by roasting the butternut squash before pureeing it along with butter, onions, garlic, sage, cream and plenty of melted asiago cheese! This asiago butternut squash sauce is so tasty all by itself but for this meal I add some Italian sausage along with spinach to fill it out and it’s all served with cheese tortellini! Crispy butter fried sage and shaved asiago are the perfect garnishes for this meal!
Use your favourite pasta shape instead of tortellini!
Roasted Butternut Squash and Sausage Tortellini
Tortellini in an asiago roasted butternut squash sauce with sausage, spinach and sage!
ingredients
- 1 (3 pound or about 6 cups) butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 olive tablespoon oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounces tortellini
- 8 ounces Italian sausage, casings removed
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon sage, chopped
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup asiago cheese
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 6 ounces baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Toss the butternut squash squash in the oil along with the salt and pepper before placing on a baking sheet on a single layer and roasting in a preheated 425F/220C oven until tender, about 20 minutes, flipping half way through and set aside.
- Cook the sausage in a large sauce pan and set aside.
- Start cooking the pasta as directed on the package.
- Melt the butter in a over medium heat, add the onions and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes before adding the garlic, sage, and red pepper flakes.
- Puree the butternut squash along with the broth and onions in a food processor before returning to the sauce pan.
- Add the cheese and cream and cook until the cheese has melted into the sauce.
- Add the sausage, pasta and baby spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Option: Replace the tortellini with your favourite pasta shape.
Option: Replace the asiago cheese with parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), or grana padano cheese, etc.
Option: Replace the baby spinach with sliced kale, swiss chard, or etc.
Option: Add a pinch of nutmeg and/or cinnamon.
Option: Serve topped with crispy fried sage and browned butter drizzle! (Heat 1/4 cup butter in a small pan over medium heat and add whoole sage leaves until they are lightly brown and crispy, before setting them aside and continuing to heat the butter until it is lightly browned.)
Option: Omit sausage for vegetarian.
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I made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit with my family. I used tortellini as suggested and subbed parmesan instead of asiago, as that is what I had on hand. I followed the directions pretty closely, but I ended up added some of the pasta water in order to thin the sauce a bit. Over all, loved the dish and will definitely be making it again. Thanks Kevin.