Roasted Butternut Squash with Chicken Sausage & Orchiette Pasta

Fran did one of her amazing feats of taking from 2-3 different recipes and creating a new delicious dish for N and I. By the way, I think I'm becoming addicted to Butternut Squash.

Butternut Squash with Chicken Sausage & Orchiette Pasta

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32 oz cubed butternut squash

3 links of chicken sausage cut into half moon ¼” chunks

½ a large onion, diced

pinch of red pepper flakes

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1 tablespoon dried sage

orchiette pasta

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 tablespoon butter

preheat the oven to 435. toss the butternut squash with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper on a sheet pan. Roast the squash for about 35 mins or until starting to caramelize, taking it out every 10 mins to stir and check on it.

Cook the sausage in a large skillet on medium heat with a little bit of olive oil until starting to brown, stirring frequently. Add the onion and red pepper flakes to the sausage and cook until the onion is starting to brown, about 3-4 mins. Add the garlic, pecans and the sage to the pan, stirring frequently for about a min. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the roasted squash.

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and reserve about a cup of the pasta water.

Return the sausage/butternut squash mixture to a medium high heat and add the parmesan, butter and half of the pasta water along with the cooked pasta and stir until combined and the cheese is melted into a smooth uniformish sauce, adding more pasta water if necessary. Serve immediately.