November Recipe: Squash, Prosciutto, and Sage Star

That rich coral-orange winter squash appeals to the eye as well as to the palate. I’m cooking with it frequently now in November, making soups, pasta dishes and antipasti.

Here’s today’s pasta dish:

Fusilli con Zucca, Prosciutto e Salvia (Fusilli Pasta with Winter Squash, Prosciutto and Sage)

Ingredients (for 4 – 6 persons, approximately)

• Pasta (I used the twisted fusilli but penne or rigatoni pasta fine, too ) – 1/2 lb for every 5 persons
• winter squash, about 1 lb – 1 1/2 lbs, diced
• fresh sage leaves, 5 or 6…..or to taste
• slice of prosciutto, thickly sliced and diced
• medium-sized onion, diced
• grated Parmesan cheese, q. b. (“quanto basta” or “as much as you need)
• extra-virgin olive oil, q. b
• salt, pepper, q. b.

Dice winter squash

Dice onion and sage leaves (and I’ll use the cradle knife to finely dice the sage):

Cover saucepan with extra-virgin olive oil, heating slightly. Add diced onion and simmer just a few minutes, then add diced prosciutto, then a ladleful of boiling water. Simmer about ten minutes.

Add diced winter squash, salt (q.b. – about 1 T) – and simmer, after adding a bit of boiling water:

Simmer until squash soft. Cook pasta in salted boiling water and drain when pasta al dente.

Mix the squash/prosciutto/sage sauce into the pasta and serve. Buon appetito!

Click here for a winter squash antipasto recipe
Click here for another winter squash recipe
Click here for a squash soup recipe
Click here for another squash recipe
Read about how Pino does our Thanksgiving turkey
Try this winter recipe with squash and lemon zest
Click here for more recipes