The original recipe called for an entire squash and lots, I do mean lots, of pasta and herbs. With our almost-empty nest, we made half of the original. Chuck cooked up the rest of the butternut squash in a tradition way, mashing it with sugar and butter.

Ingredients:

1/2 medium butternut squash

1 small sweet onion, peeled and diced

1 clove garlic, minced

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh sage leaves

1/2 pound farfalle pasta

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

2 oz. high quality Parmesan, shredded or shaved (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the strings and seeds from the center. Flip the squash halves upside down and peel them. Cut the squash into 1 inch cubes. Toss with the onion, garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper. Mince about half of the fresh sage leaves and toss with the squash.

Spread the squash mixture in a thin layer on a large baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes or until the squash is soft.

Heat pasta water to boiling and cook the farfalle until al dente. Drain and set aside. As the squash finished roasting, heat about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large high-sided saute pan. Drop in the rest of the sage leaves and fry for about a minute, or until the begin to shrivel up.

Remove with a slotted spoon and salt lightly. Crush with the back of a spoon.

Add half the pasta to the pan, along with half the roasted squash mixture. Crumble in half the sage. Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes or until the pasta is heated through and getting crispy on some of the edges. Add the pine nuts and cook for another minute. Stir in half the cheese and serve.

These are the amounts we used. I hope the “half a squash” doesn’t confuse anyone. It was delicious.