Pasta With Squash And Pine Nuts Recipe

How to make it

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• Cut squash in half, remove seeds, and rub flesh with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Put ½ T butter and ½ T brown sugar in the cavity of each half. Put on baking pan cut-side up and put in the oven. After a few minutes of baking, when butter is melted, use a spoon to mix butter and brown sugar and spread around inside the cavity. Continue baking until flesh is soft. When squash is cool enough to handle, remove flesh from shells. (I baked mine the night before, two hours at 350, then left it on the counter overnight).
• I did not have a recipe, so I will estimate quantities. Please make adjustments if you feel they are needed. I used only one-half of the squash for 4 servings; for 8, use the whole squash and double the other ingredients.
• This dish can be finished and assembled quickly if you prepare pasta, sauce and pine nuts simultaneously. Put water for pasta in large pot and start to heat. Meanwhile, put pine nuts in a small, dry, non-stick skillet and the squash in a medium non-stick saucepan.
• Put squash flesh on low heat and slowly add milk, a little at a time, until the desired consistency for sauce. Taste and add salt if needed. Continue to heat, stirring frequently.
• When water is boiling, drop pasta in. Cook to desired consistency.
• After dropping pasta, put lowest possible heat under pine nuts (I used about ¼ cup for 4 servings). Stir frequently and watch constantly until pine nuts are nicely toasted. Remove from heat and reserve.
• When pasta is ready, drain quickly, leaving a little water clinging to the pasta, and return to the pot. Toss pasta with fresh thyme leaves (I used about 2T for 4 servings; if using dried thyme, reduce accordingly). Add squash sauce to the pasta in the pot and toss.
• Immediately put pasta on individual plates or serving platter, top with pine nuts and garnish with additional fresh thyme if desired. Serve with a large green salad.