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Linguine with Butternut Squash Alfredo with Pancetta and Crispy Sage

It’s September, the beginning of Fall and these days, these 3 months (September, October, November) are filled with a different kind of squash, pumpkin spice. While we will be bringing pumpkin spice to you in October and November, this recipe uses the butternut variety of squash.

Now I won’t lie, in my daily life, I really don’t care for squash. I like spaghetti squash, but all the other kinds… not really. I just don’t find any of it appetizing. But this is something different. I wanted to make something that would be warm, filling, delicious and accurate to the season. So i came up with this sauce to go with my ultimate favorite food, pasta.

Every person I’ve ever met loves fettuccine alfredo and I would bet money that it’s all about the creamy rich white sauce filled with heavy cream and butter. Cream sauces are well loved, and very popular in the world of pasta. They are also delicious, warm and incredibly filling. As the cold winds start to blow and the leaves start to change, we’re all going to need some rich creamy pasta.

Adding butternut squash into an alfredo sauce felt risky when I was putting it together. Like I said, I don’t really love squash, so taking one of my favorite sauces and adding to it felt weird and a little like blasphemy. I’m happy to report that I was completely wrong. When I write recipes, I expect 50% of them to work and 50% to fail. I’m definitely lucky most of the time and end up with something fantastic. This was one of those times.

Adding the squash to the sauce added a velvety quality that I wasn’t expecting, and imparted a delicate flavor that complimented the alfredo sauce so well. The pancetta gave everything a nice saltiness and a slight meatiness that the dish needed, while the fried sage was crunchy and unexpected in a dish like this.

I do want to point out that this can be a completely vegetarian dish, by removing the pancetta and using the vegetable stock instead of the chicken stock. You could also make it healthier by using olive oil to cook the onions, and using 1% or 2% milk instead of whole milk or heavy cream. I don’t recommend using skim milk, it doesn’t have enough creaminess to give the sauce that texture that alfredo sauce usually has. 1% or 2% milk has enough to recreate that creamy texture, without the fat content of heavy cream.

This is a really amazing fall dish. It surpassed my expectations by being so simple, yet so good. I hope it will meet your expectations too.

Yield: 6 Servings
1 Box: Barilla Linguine
½ LB: Pancetta, medium dice
1 Handful: Sage, full leaves
Alfredo Sauce
2 TBSP: Butter
1 Cup: Vidalia Onion, small dice
1 Each: Garlic Clove, minced
3 Cups: Butternut Squash, large dice
1 Cup: Stock (Chicken or Vegetable)
2 TBSP: Fresh Thyme
½ Cup: Whole Milk or Heavy Cream
As Needed: Salt
As Needed: White Pepper

Sauce

1. In a pan, add butter and sweat onions on medium heat. Do not brown.
2. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Be careful not to burn.
3. Add squash, stock, and thyme. Stir to combine. Cover and cook until squash is tender.
4. Add to food processor. Add milk, ½ a cup of pasta water, salt and white pepper.
5. Process until smooth.

1. In a pan, add 1 TBSP of olive oil. Add fresh sage and fry until crispy. Let cool on paper towels
2. In the same pan, add diced pancetta. Cook until crisp. Remove from heat, set on paper towels to drain.