Whole Wheat Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash, Turkey Bacon, and Walnuts

I love Butternut Squash, which speaks of Fall to me.  Maybe its the golden color of the squash, or the abundance of  squash recipes that I see everywhere. I had posted a similar squash recipe last year, but I decided to rework the recipe.  I added add some turkey bacon to the squash to change things up a bit, as well as using whole wheat pasta, and my husband loved it. He even took some for his lunch the next day.  Must have been the turkey bacon and whole wheat pasta;) You can use regular pasta, and bacon or pancetta in this dish if you have no health issues.  Besides, it was BNC, before my new camera, and I got a better pic this time.

This recipe is wonderful with the roasted butter nut squash, onions, bacon, garlic, and toasted walnuts  Roasting the vegetables caramelizes them, and gives them a richer, deeper flavor.  I actually cooked the bacon along side the peeled, diced squash, onions and garlic.  The turkey bacon package said to cook in 400 degree oven for 15 min., until crisp, and it turned out perfectly. I just had foil on the cookie sheet, and there was very little grease. Actually the hardest part of the recipe is peeling the squash, but  I have a tip to do that in the recipe.

After the squash, onions, garlic, and bacon are cooked, toss with the rubbed sage or fresh, chopped sage leaves.  This time I didn't have the fresh sage leaves, so I used the dry rubbed sage, which was fine. the vegetables and bacon cool a bit with sage. This is a very easy recipe to make vegetarian, just omit the turkey bacon, and use vegetable stock.

Then you cook the whole wheat pasta of your choice to al dente, firm to the teeth. I used Farfalle, because I think that it looks so pretty in the pasta bowl. Drain the pasta, do not rinse.  Remember to save about 1c of pasta water to mix with the squash, to prevent the pasta from getting sticky. Add a little chicken or vegetable stock, if needed. Mix pasta and vegetables in large bowl.  Top with Parmesan cheese, and toasted walnuts. Enjoy! 

Whole Wheat Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash, Turkey Bacon, and Walnuts
I adapted this recipe from Seth Roth and Bryan Devlin at Oprah.com

• 1 pound , or your favorite pasta I used whole wheat Farfalle
• 1 large butternut squash
• 2 medium onions, quartered 
• 3 slice, of turkey bacon, cooked 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, or 1Tbsp dried, rubbed Sage
•  3 cloves Garlic
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4-1/2  c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 c. toasted walnuts

 *** Tip for peeling Squash***

Put squash in microwave for about 4 min. to facilitate peeling.  Once out of the microwave, the squash should be easy to peel with a vegetable peeler or knife.

Dice the squash into half inch cubes,. quarter onions, and peel garlic Place vegetables, garlic, and bacon  in 400 degree oven on baking sheet covered with foil and sprayed or greased, drizzle with olive oil,  and roast until soft. Roasting time will vary from 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the age of the squash. Remove from the oven and toss the squash, onions, and garlic with the chopped sage to infuse the flavor.Chop bacon in small pieces and add to vegetable sage mix.

To toast walnuts, place in small frying pan with no oil, and heat over medium heats for a few minutes until nuts are lightly browned.  Be careful, because they can burn easily.

In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente . Drain the pasta, then toss with the squash, onions,  garlic, turkey bacon,  Parmesan cheese, and nuts.  (If the pasta seems too dry, toss with a little chicken or vegetable stock, or a bit of the pasta water.) Garnish with Parmesan cheese and toasted walnuts.