A Better Butternut Pasta

Long ago and far away, I created a butternut squash pasta dish that I posted to this blog. The other day, I improved upon it. In fact, my more recent butternut pasta is far, far better than the first. And this has a whole lot to do with the fact that it has far, far more fat in it. In fact, it's probably the fattiest thing I've cooked in years (if you don't count desserts).

However, I've made it twice over the last two weeks because it is just so decadently good. Butter, cream, cheese . . . I don't know about you, but those ingredients definitely say "luxurious" and "decadent" to me. Add the lovely fall flavors of sweet butternut squash, sage, and thyme, and include some sausage because it goes so nicely with squash and for some spice and texture, and I'm a happy girl.

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Butternut Squash and Sausage Pasta with Parmesan Cream Sauce

4 cups fresh cubed butternut squash, or 20 oz. frozen cubed butternut squash*
8 oz. (half of a roll) of pork breakfast sausage with sage (such as Jimmy Dean's)
3 Tablespoons butter, divided
2 Tablespoons flour
3/4 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 cups milk
3 sprigs thyme (more if you love it)
dash nutmeg
2 oz. (or more) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
salt to taste
10 oz. cooked shell pasta

Heat a large skillet over medium heat (I used a nonstick skillet). Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan. Pull off bite-sized pinches of sausage and put them into the pan (mine are probably about a tablespoon each), then add the squash over and around the meat. Cover the pan and let the squash and sausage cook for about 10 minutes, or until the sausage is done. Don't stir it very much or everything will break apart; I only stir it once to turn the sausage so that it cooks on both sides. After it's done cooking, drain off a bit of the fat.

While you wait for the sausage and squash to cook, make the cream sauce. Start by melting the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and whisk together until you get a paste. Let cook for about a minute, but don't let it get very brown. Slowly add the heavy cream and milk, whisking while you go. Drop in the thyme sprigs, but don't take the leaves off (you will take it out after it's had a chance to steep in the sauce). Bring the sauce up to a slow simmer and let it cook for five to ten minutes, or until it is at least thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the nutmeg and the cheese and stir. After the cheese is melted, remove the thyme.

Pour the cream sauce over the squash and sausage and stir gently to combine. Add salt to taste (I find that it needs a generous amount of salt, even though it contains sausage and cheese). Toss with your pasta, and you're done!

Enjoy!

*Note: If you use fresh squash, your sauce will have retain some soft chunks of it. If you use frozen, it tends to cook down more quickly, and you will end up with a butternut mash that mixes smoothly into cream sauce. They both taste the same, but if you prefer more of a lumpy texture (like me), use fresh squash or add the frozen 7 or 8 minutes after you've begun cooking the sausage. If you prefer more of a smooth texture, use frozen and follow the recipe as written.