Creamy Pasta with Butternut Squash and Mascarpone Cheese

 A delicious combination of sweet butternut squash, creamy mascarpone cheese and sage infused butter sauce

Fall season, here we come!

Here is my very first fall-inspired squash Italian recipe of the year. And it's a good one.

This scrumptious vegetarian pasta is a well balanced and satisfying meal which I'm sure will become one of your favorite too once you try it out.

This pasta sauce has sweet and nutty butternut squash, which is a great source of vitamin C, fibers, magnesium and potassium. It has all the calcium and proteins that you need from the mascarpone and the parmesan cheese. And the carbs and fibers form the pasta.
If you want to add something extra and super yummy, you can top this pasta with crispy bacon or prosciutto pieces. Oh-so scrumptious!

This recipe is quite quick to do. 

While the water for the pasta gets boiling, you can make the sauce. Saute' the butternut squash in sage infused butter until golden and fork tender. 

If you are running out of time, and want to make things a little faster, you can drop the squash cubes in boiling water for a few minutes. This will cut cooking time considerably.

When the pasta is almost ready, add the mascarpone cheese to the pan with the squash. Make sure to add one or two ladles of the water from your pasta pan to thin the sauce and fully cook the squash. 

Toss the pasta with the sauce and parmesan cheese. Mix well and let the pasta sit with the sauce for a few minutes to let the flavors mingle and come together. 

Top with bacon or prosciutto if you're using. Serve with freshly grated pepper and more parmesan cheese if you wish. 

Buon appetito!

Other Italian Recipe you might like:

Italian Bruschetta with Burrata Cheese

Spaghetti all'Amatriciana

Traditional Risotto with Calamari (Squid) 

Spaghetti all Puttanesca

Step-by-step Authentic Seafood Risotto

Authentic Italian Pasta with Calamari (Squid) Sauce

Risotto with Shrimp and Asparagus 

Traditional Frittata di Spaghetti

Easy-to-make Seafood Paella

Risotto with Smoked Salmon and Zucchini

Pollo alla Pizzaiola

Creamy Pasta with Butternut Squash and Mascarpone Cheese

Yield: 4

Author: Manuela Mazzocco

Prep time: 40 MinTotal time: 40 Min

A delicious combination of sweet butternut squash, creamy mascarpone cheese and sage infused butter sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 gr) of butternut squash, cleaned, peeled and cubed
• 6 leaves of sage
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz (225 gr) of mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 12 oz (340 gr) casarecce pasta (or your favorite)

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Peel, clean and cut in cubes the butternut squash.
3. In a large skillet (large enough to toss the pasta at the end), heat the oil, butter and sage over medium-high heat.
4. Add the squash and cook for about 10 minutes, mixing often. Add one ladle of water (from the pasta) and let simmer until fork tender. Salt and pepper to taste. You can also boil in the pasta water (before you cook the pasta) first for about 5 minutes to quicken the cooking time. Keep the squash as is or mesh it a little with a fork.
5. Cook the pasta following the direction in the box.
6. When the pasta is ready, add the mascarpone cheese to the squash pan and one more ladle of pasta water. Adjust with salt if necessary. 
7. Add the pasta to the skillet and more water if needed. Toss in the skillet with the mascarpone and squash sauce, adding the Parmesan cheese.
8. Serve immediately with pepper and more Parmesan cheese.
9. Buon appetito!

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