Recipe
Penne with Roasted Butternut, Brown Butter & Sage
Recipe by Annie Somerville in Everyday Greens: Home Cooking from Greens, the Celebrated Vegetarian Restaurant. 2003, Scribner, NY.
I bought Everyday Greens after a enjoying a fabulous meal at Greens restaurant in San Francisco with my daughter, Laura in 2014. What a meal that was. I don’t remember what I ordered, but I do remember what she had. It was a mushroom panzanella with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, centered with a quail egg. Annie Somerville, I still dream about that bite. I would love the recipe!
This rich and delicious pasta is a perfect balance of flavors and textures. As with any dish involving butternut squash, getting the squash ready to cook is the hardest part! Buying it already peeled and cubed is convenient, but expensive, so I do the work required!
Overview
This dish is a perfect balance of flavors and textures. The shallots and walnuts give it just a bit of crunch, the squash provides creaminess, and the brown butter? Well, what do you say about brown butter…I wish we had Smell-a-Vision so you could smell what I mean! Brown butter gives it such depth and richness. It’s OMG good!
Ingredients
1 recipe brown butter
Salt and pepper
½ lb. penne
6 large shallots, thinly sliced, about 1 cup
1 lb. butternut squash, cut into ½” cubes (about 2 ½ cups)
¼ cup white wine
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/3 cup walnut pieces toasted and chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
Grated parmesan cheese to serve
1 ½ Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
Instructions
Step 1
Make the brown butter. (See the video below.) Heat ¼ cup butter over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. As the butter cooks, the solids will sink to the bottom and begin to brown. Watch it carefully so you don’t burn the solids. Strain through a cheesecloth lined sieve or a coffee filter and set aside.
Step 2
Peel and chop the squash, mince the garlic, slice the shallots, and chop the sage.
Step 3
Preheat the oven to 400°. Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of oil, the garlic, ½ tablespoon of the sage, and salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
Step 4
Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Drop in the penne and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
Step 5
Heat the remaining oil in a large sauté pan and add the shallots, 1/3 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook over medium heat until the shallots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook until the pan is nearly dry, about 3 minutes.
Step 6
Just before draining the pasta, add a cup of the pasta water to the shallots, along with the squash, the brown butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Cook over medium heat for 1 or 2 minutes.
Step 7
Toss in the walnuts and the rest of the sage and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
Penne with Roasted Butternut, Brown Butter & Sage
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- ½ lb. penne
- 1 lb. butternut squash cut into ½” cubes (about 2 ½ cups)
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 ½ Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
- Salt and pepper
- 6 large shallots thinly sliced, about 1 cup
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1/3 cup walnut pieces toasted and chopped
- Grated parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
- Make the brown butter. Heat a stick of butter over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. As the butter cooks, the solids will sink to the bottom and begin to brown. Watch it carefully so you don’t burn the solids. Strain through a cheesecloth lined sieve or a coffee filter and set aside. You will use half for this recipe; cover and refrigerate the rest for another day.
- Peel and chop the squash, mince the garlic, slice the shallots, and chop the sage.
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of oil, the garlic, ½ tablespoon of the sage, and salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Drop in the penne and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Heat the remaining oil in a large sauté pan and add the shallots, 1/3 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook over medium heat until the shallots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook until the pan is nearly dry, about 3 minutes.
- Just before draining the pasta, add a cup of the pasta water to the shallots, along with the squash, a quarter cup of the brown butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Cook over medium heat for 1 or 2 minutes.
- Toss in the walnuts and the rest of the sage and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.