Carb-haters beware, this recipe is not for you! (But, I urge you to take a look anyway because the benefits of carbs are numerous.)
For me, the key to having pasta for dinner is making sure it is filling and satisfying enough — which I do by using whole-wheat pasta and adding lots of vegetables and a source of protein – beans, cheese and ground beef or turkey are my go-tos.
For this recipe, I've added roasted cubes of butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, sage, lemon and a hint of maple syrup — making this dish the perfect complement of sweet and savory.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprout Pasta with Lemon-Sage Ricotta
Ingredients
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts, quartered
- 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced into half moons
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more additional oil for frying sage garnish
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
- 2 pound butternut squash, peeled and diced into small cubes
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- Freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup blanched hazelnuts, cut into halves
- 1 pound 100-percent whole-wheat pasta
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped sage, plus additional sage leaves for garnish
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil.
- Toss Brussels sprouts and onions with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ tablespoon maple syrup and spread on one prepared baking sheet. Roast 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.
- Toss cubed squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ tablespoon maple syrup and spread on second prepared baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through cooking time. When vegetables are finished roasting, toss all together with ¼ teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper. Set aside.
- While the vegetables are roasting, toast hazelnuts in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting the salt and making sure not to overcook. Reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining.
- While pasta is cooking, mix together ricotta, chopped sage, lemon zest and lemon juice, remaining tablespoon maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Drain pasta, return to pot, and toss with remaining tablespoon olive oil. Add lemon-sage ricotta to the pasta and toss to coat. Add reserved pasta water as needed to make sure pasta is well-coated. Add the vegetables, toasted hazelnuts, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and fresh pepper to taste. Toss again.
- Prior to serving, fry sage leaves in oil. Serve pasta with fried sage leaves on top. Serves 6 to 8.
* This recipe originally appeared on Jessica Fishman Levinson's Nutritioulicious blog in October 2014.