Creamy Butternut Squash and Pancetta Pasta

This pasta has so many of my favorite flavors in one bite. Butternut squash gets pureed with brown butter creating a rich, velvety sauce. Pancetta is browned for salty bites that really pop. Breadcrumbs are toasted in the pancetta fat for the ultimate crispy topping, and shaved brussel sprouts take this baby home. This pasta sort of tastes like an autumnal version of a zhuzhed up carbonara - need I say more?

• Pasta tip: Make sure to really salt your pasta water! Learning the extent to which I should be salting my pasta water was a revelation - you want it to taste as salty as the ocean! While this might seem like a lot of salt, it does not mean this is how much salt you will actually be eating. Rather, it’s the amount of salt needed to properly season the noodles as they cook. The noodles will absorb some of the salt, helping them become flavorful instead of falling flat like they would if you hadn’t salted the water properly. Without properly salting the water, the pasta will just be missing something, no matter how flavorful your actual sauce is. That’s just sad, so make sure to salt your pasta water! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cored
• 4 tbsp butter
• ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
• ½ pound pancetta, cut into ¼ inch dice
• Olive oil 
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup cream
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Salt and pepper
• ½ pound fresh brussel sprouts, shaved 
• 1 lb pasta 
• ¼ cup grated pecorino or parmesan

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cut squash into 2 inch thick strips. Place on a sheet tray and cover with tin foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the squash is fork tender. 
3. Get your pasta ready by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil.
4. While squash is cooking and water is heating up, make your toppings: in a skillet large enough to hold the pasta later, add pancetta and cook over medium heat until it’s rendered and crispy, 3-4 minutes. Set aside, but keep the remaining fat. Add the panko to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the panko is browned and toasty, 3-4 minutes. Set aside. 
5. Now make the other ingredients for your sauce: In the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the foam subsides, the milk solids brown and it smells nutty and toasty, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat immediately. Add the minced shallot to the skillet along with a tablespoon and cook until slightly softened 3-4 minutes) and then add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
6. Add squash, brown butter, shallots and garlic, cream, red pepper flakes, and maple syrup to a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
7. Add pasta to water and cook until just under al dente.
8. Back in the skillet, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and shaved brussel sprouts with a pinch of salt and sear on high heat for just a minute until brussel sprouts are slightly softened. Add Pasta to skillet along with several big spoonfuls of sauce and half a cup of pasta water. Mix constantly until all water is absorbed, adding more sauce to be as saucy as you want. Top with pancetta, bread crumbs, grated pecorino, and fresh black pepper.