Fall is here and our weekly vegetable box is overflowing, with everything from apples to kale and the first pumpkins and butternut squashes. Last week, on an evening where the first suggestion of visible breath was in the air, I decided that while it was time for comfort food.
Years ago I had a job that took me to Milan in Italy several times a year. On a cold and miserable fall day, jet lagged, soggy and in need of sustenance, I stumbled into a small restaurant in a little street close to the Duomo di Milano. Once fortified with a glass of red I asked the elderly waiter to bring me whatever he’d like to eat on a day like this. What arrived ten minutes later has turned into one of my favourite recipes of all times, rigatoni with winter squash.
Here’s how to get the taste of a fall day in Italy into your house:
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds peeled and cubed butternut squash
- Good olive oil
- 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
- Thyme
- Chopped Walnuts, about a cup
- Rigatoni pasta, enough for four to six people
In a deep skillet or pan, heat the olive oil. Add onion, a three fingered pinch of salt, and the red pepper flakes, then cook over low to medium heat heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to caramelize. This can take up to 30 minutes. Put your heat up to medium, add the cubed squash, season with a little more salt and your thyme, then cook until the edges of the squash start developing some colour. This should take no longer than five minutes. Cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender but not mushy, another five to ten minutes.
In the meantime, cook and drain your pasta, keeping back a little of the water. When the squash is ready, add the cooked pasta and about a 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Give it all a good but gentle stir. Serve sprinkled with chopped walnuts and grated parmesan.
Since that day in Milan, I’ve prepared pumpkin and squashes like this many times, but not always served them with pasta. With the addition of a little smoked paprika and served with a poached egg on top, heavenly with a duck egg, this turns into a spectacular brunch dish. Cold, it livens up a simple salad but goes equally well with some cold ham and home made bread. Add some good stock and puree and you’ve got a delicious soup.