Recently I reached out to a friend who is on a mission to complete this bucket list he made, and as a birthday gift to him I gave him 2 cooking lessons of the cuisine of his choice and we had our first one a few weeks ago. He chose Italian food, and I must say- it went pretty well. I opted for a dish that was simple to make so that not only I could teach him how to put a healthy meal together but it would show him easy simple techniques. According to him, I did just that...and he has used some of his new culinary knowledge already.
With that said, here is the recipe...
Butternut Squash and ham Pasta
What you will need:
2 C cubed butternut squash
12 Oz whole wheat pasta
1/2 C Italian flat leaf parsley
1/2 C Pecorino Romano
4 Oz smoked ham, julienned
1 C mascarpone cheese
1 C chicken broth
2 Cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp evoo
Salt & Pepper
How to make:
In a large pot, boil water. Add plenty of salt once the water boils, and add pasta. Let it cook at least 10 minutes..whole wheat pasta takes longer than regular pasta, if you do not like it al dente then let it cook a little longer. You can continue with the rest of the recipe while it boils, otherwise once it is done drain and set aside. Make sure you save about 1 cup of the pasta water.
Sautee ham with evoo until brown on medium high heat. Add garlic, sautee for about a minute, add broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in squash and allow it to soften for about 15 mins. Stir in mascarpone cheese and set on low heat. Once melted, add half of the italian parsley, stir gently and add the pasta. If it is too dry you can add a little of that pasta water that you saved. Season with salt and pepper. When you are ready to serve, add the pecorino romano and top with the rest of the parsley.
Enjoy~
