Easy Butternut Squash Pasta

Happy Monday, friends!  I hope you all had a restful weekend.  We've been working on projects around the house for the past few weeks and have completed most of them.  I'm working on a post to show you the changes I've made, but I really wanted to pick up some pumpkins first, so... that will have to wait for now since it's going to be close to 100 degrees today and I don't want my pumpkins to turn to mush.

In the mean time, I have an excellent, fantastic, delicious new recipe for you that I am absolutely in love with!!  I wish I could take all the credit, but I picked up the new Food Network magazine this weekend and I got the idea from a recipe in there.  I did change a few things around and substitute a few ingredients, so I am sharing my version today, but I have no doubt the original would be just as tasty and it won't hurt my feelings one bit if you decide to try that version instead!

Ingredients:
2 small butternut squash peeled and diced (or buy 2 bags of the already cut squash from Trader Joe's like I did!)
1 pkg of orecchiette
1 pkg of diced pancetta (again, TJ's)
1 small bunch of baby broccoli, tough stems trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
3 cloves of garlic minced or grated
olive oil
salt, pepper & granulated garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes
reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water

Directions:
Begin by preheating your oven to 425 degrees.  If you purchased your squash already cut, you may want to dice the pieces up a little smaller.  I was going for 1" sized cubes.  Spread squash out on a baking sheet and season well with kosher salt, granulated garlic and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil, about 2 tbs should do it and toss with hands until all the squash is coated in a little bit of oil and seasonings.  Place in oven for about 25 minutes, turn squash once about half way through.

When squash is about half way done, heat a pot of water and follow the cooking instruction on the pasta packaging.  Do not drain water when pasta is finished, as you will need it to blanch the broccoli and you will want to reserve a cup or ladle full of the water to add to the pasta if needed.

While the water and pasta is going, heat up a heavy bottom skillet (I love cast iron) and add a little olive oil and the pancetta. Add the minced garlic and a pinch (I like the heat, so my pinch is generous) of red pepper flakes. Stir occasionally until the pancetta is golden brown and then turn off the heat.

When the pasta is done add it directly to the skillet you cooked the pancetta in and stir well.  Add the broccoli to the pot of boiling water that you cooked the pasta in, and cook for 3-4 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Remove squash from the oven and add it to the pasta and pancetta and stir well.  Top with the broccoli and add a little of the cooking water if needed to loosen up the pasta and act as a sauce. Serve immediately. Add a little fresh grated parmesan if desired.

I pretty much guarantee you, if you like squash this will be your new favorite dish.  Writing it all down, it does seem like there are quite a few steps, but since many of them are done simultaneously, it does not really take that long to throw together, and I promise you it will be worth the effort!