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Pasta With Winter Squash and Tomatoes
![Pasta With Winter Squash and Tomatoes](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/04/05/dining/05COOKING-ZITIWINTERSQUASH/05COOKING-ZITIWINTERSQUASH-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- Salt and pepper
- 3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1tablespoon chopped garlic
- ¼cup sliced shallots
- ¼teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 2cups chopped tomatoes
- 1½ to 2pounds peeled, cubed or shredded butternut or other winter squash, about 5 cups
- ½pound cut pasta, like ziti or penne
- Freshly chopped parsley or Parmesan for garnish.
Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, shallots and pepper flakes and cook for about a minute; add tomatoes and squash, and cook with some salt and pepper.
- Step 2
When squash is tender – about 10 minutes for shreds, 15 or so for small cubes – cook pasta until it is tender. Combine sauce and pasta, and serve, garnished with parsley or Parmesan.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Considering my butternut squash wasn't the best, and that I used canned tomatoes, this was still very good. I also used bow-tie pasta which worked out very well. I added some pasta water to the pan with the pasta. Nice to have a vegetable heavy, rather than pasta heavy dish and I will make again in the fall.
I added a can of white beans, my husband added cinnamon and it was so yummy!
The flavors are good, but I might add more garlic and shallot. Careful with the pepper flakes—a little goes a long way. Save a couple of cups of the pasta water to finish the dish. I wish I had also finished it with some butter, why not?
I doubled the recipe, which was challenging. I cooked the squash and tomatoes in a Dutch oven, which did not have the surface area to easily cook the vegetables. If I cook this again for a crowd, I might break out my roasting pan and cook over two burners.
I agree with the other cooks who recommend adding pasta water at the end. I also stirred in a little extra olive oil to finish, as well as a teaspoon or so of balsamic vinegar.
The entire time I️ was eating this my mouth was searching for the rest of the flavors that just weren’t there. It was very one note to me.
I amalgamated the previous comments and made the following modifications: Added: 1/4 c sherry 1/2 T sugar in the raw 1 T fresh thyme leaves 1/4 c chopped parsley 1 c pasta water 1 T white balsamic vinegar 1/4 c olive oil Also, squash needs to get sort of mushy to mix into this, IMHO, so I cooked it longer. Next time I will just roast the squash and scoop it in.
Followed recipe to the letter and result was “meh.” Not terrible, but not worth the effort of prepping the butternut squash. Adding 1/3 c. pasta water and some grated Parmesan cheese helps a bit. We love butternut squash and all the other ingredients, so my impression might be biased.
Good use for squash, but needs something, maybe acidic, spicy or a little bacon. Don't skimp on tomato. Good consistency; a little pasta water helps.
Great proportions. I did grate a quarter of the squash and roasted the rest diced. Yummy.
Added spinach, olives, and capers.
I am not impressed if just going by the recipe. I kept looking to see if I was missing something as none of the ingredients felt it was going to give it loads of flavour. Make sure the tomatoes are nice and ripe and the squash is in season or will be very bland. Had to add some other spices to make it worth eating, and even then it wasn’t good enough for a meal so ended up having toast for dinner….
This was a great, quick weeknight meal! And a good way to manage the overlap of end-of-season tomatoes and butternut squash. I think I managed the “missing flavor” by throwing in a Parmesan rind with the tomatoes and squash.
Use heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil. The flavor is very dependent on the quality of the tomatoes
I used roasted, smashed winter squash (which I always have in the freezer) rather then following the squash prep in the recipe. All other ingredients kept the same. The final sauce was thick and lovely, really stuck to the pasta. Used pasta water to thin, finished with cheese (Pecorino Romano and Goat). Many of the additions mentioned would be really good to play with: Garam Masala, smoked paprika, thyme, sage. Add additional texture by finishing with cooked bacon, toasted nuts, etc
Yummy recipe! I also added a touch of fish sauce, white wine and butter to amp up the umami and creaminess. Big hit with the family.
Centimeter or so cubes worked well as did medium high heat. It wasn’t getting thick and sticking some to the bottom, so I spooned 1/2 into another heated skillet. Gotta have something to deglaze! Deglazed both, combined, and tossed with fresh herbs and parm.
This wasn't bad, it just wasn't all that good. Squash and pasta are both starchy; it needs something more than the tomatoes to bring a different dimension and break up the starch. Pancetta or bacon would be good, as would goat cheese or feta--or both! Used Banza (chickpea) pasta and it was great!
Great recipe! I doubled the shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes and added cumin and smoked paprika. I also used canned crushed tomatoes and juice, maybe a little extra, but I also added some pasta water so the sauce coated the pasta. It was delicious. I let it simmer longer to get the squash softer.
I made a few modifications to this since I thought it would be one note, as several others mentioned. I upped the shallots and garlic, and added some honey, lemon zest and a pinch of nutmeg. This helped to add some sweetness and brightened up the dish. Also, don't be shy on the salt. The squash really can absorb a lot. Overall, a really great winter dish.
This was great on its own, but I added some crispy pancetta on top with sage fried in the pancetta grease. Also delicious. I took note of the comments and added some pasta water too, and the sauce turned out velvety and covered every noodle.
Also added fresh chopped chanterelles
This is the second time I am making this dish. I found it quite bland the first time. This time I began by blooming a small bit of garam masala and black mustard seed in some oil before adding the shallots garlic and pepper flakes. I then added some dandelion miso and stirred. Proceeded with the recipe adding the tomatoes and butternut squash. I also added fresh thyme and dill and crumbled tempeh. It’s still cooking but it smells wonderful
Love this dish! Definitely worth making, but agree with everyone else saying it needs extra pasta water. I saved about a cup and wish I’d saved more- it’s very dry. I added fresh thyme to the cooking squash and my bf added cumin to the fully prepped dish, both were good choices. We also added cannellini beans right at the end so they’d warm. Would make again!
I really enjoyed this pasta dish. Felt comforting. Added more shallot, added pasta water and also added pancetta when I sautéed the shallot.
Same as other folks - I added a bit of pasta water to make it more a sauce and I squeezed some fresh lemon which helped it feel more dimensional. Overall, this was missing some depth to it. Maybe caramelized onions or something? Some feta?
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