I've been in the mood for pasta, but not the usual red sauce. Thinking differently, I remembered a rigatoni with butternut squash, peas, and porcini mushrooms I've had multiple times at Zero Otto Nove in the Bronx, and put together this butternut squash cream sauce inspired by that.

I wanted to get this done all in one pan, but the amount of squash was just too much to brown in a 12-inch skillet, so I started by roasting the cubed butternut squash in a hot oven until nicely caramelized around the edges. The squash then gets added to a saucepan with shallots sautéed in a browned sage butter along with the chicken stock. After being simmered together, the mixture is pureed and finished with Parmesan and heavy cream.

Rich, sweet, and just a little salty, this is a truly winning sauce. Breaking up the pasta monotony at home, it was a welcome change and one that I'd be happy to make over and over again.

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Butternut Squash and Sage Cream Sauce >>

About the author: Joshua Bousel brings you new, tasty condiment each Wednesday and a recipe for weekend grilling every Friday. He also writes about grilling and barbecue on his blog The Meatwave whenever he can be pulled away from his grill.