This creamy pasta makes for a satisfying one-bowl dinner. It’s the ultimate comfort food and has just a tingle of spice to keep you warm. The pasta is combined with a silky roasted butternut squash and mascarpone sauce before being topped with crispy kalettes (little kale sprouts) and fried sage.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, Italian
Keyword: butternut squash, cheesecake, kale, pasta
Servings: 4
Author: Sanjana
Ingredients
250gpasta of your choiceI used tripoline
1large butternut squashpeeled and cubed (about 1kg)
2large cloves garlicsliced
1tspfennel seeds
2tspchilli flakes
2tbspolive oil + 1 tsp
20sage leaves
160gkalettes
250gmascarpone
1 1/2tspsea salt
Fresh parsleyto garnish (optional)
Grated cheeseI like Cheddar, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F.
First, fry the sage leaves in 2 tbsp olive oil until dark green and crispy. Remove from the oil and set aside on kitchen paper to cool and crisp up further. Keep the oil you used to cook them in — we’re going to toss the squash in this.
Peel and cube the butternut squash. Toss with 1/2 tsp sea salt, fennel seeds and the olive oil used to cook the sage leaves. Place this in the oven to roast, about 30-35 minutes.
Place the kalettes on a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil. Coat the kalettes well and once the squash has been in the oven for 20 minutes, pop the kalettes in for the remainder of the cooking time. They should take about 10-12 minutes to crisp up.
Remove the squash and kale from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water, according to packet instructions.
Blend together half of the squash, mascarpone and 60ml of the pasta cooking water. Be sure to include all that roasted garlic. Season with chilli flakes and 1 tsp salt.
Drain the pasta and immediately toss the pasta with the sauce. Top with the crispy kalettes, remaining squash cubes and fried sage leaves. Garnish with chopped parsley and grated cheese, if desired. Serve piping hot.