Bow-Tie Pasta with Winter Squash and Walnuts

Meal Rating: Mediocre

Tonight's dinner was decent, not great but okay. We had Bow-Tie Pasta with Winter Squash and Walnuts, courtesy of "7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies". The timing on this meal is tricky. I have some ideas of how to improve the recipe as well. 

Bow-Tie Pasta with Winter Squash and Walnuts

Prep time: 15 minutes, plus standing time   Cook time: 7 minutes, plus pasta

Yields 6 servings



Ingredients

1 pound winter squash (such as butternut, acorn, or kabocha), peeled, seeded and cubed

1 pound bow-tie pasta

1 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil (or as Rachel Ray says EVOO)

2 cloves minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to directions.

2. Microwave cubed squash with a little water on high for 5-6 minutes or until almost tender, let stand covered 3 minutes, drain and MASH.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add mashed squash, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Toss the drained pasta with the squash mixture and serve topped with walnuts and Parmesan cheese.



Squash mixture.. I missed the part where you were supposed to mash it so I had to do it in the pan.

Tips: I'm thinking of an overhaul for the recipe. First of all, the squash (I used butternut) doesn't bring enough taste into the mix. It's a little on the bland side. I'm thinking sweet potatoes instead of squash. I'm going to have to try it and get back to you on this. I'm also thinking that parsley, salt and pepper are not enough. Some additional spice options would be dill, oregano, marjoram, basil. I love the walnuts and Parmesan cheese in this, add more! On a side note, I've never peeled and seeded a squash before. It was interesting. I used a carrot peeler and it seemed like it might be the right tool. It was pretty in the bowl...



As far as the timing of this, I reversed the first 2 steps when I typed it out because it makes more sense to start the pasta first. But you should have your squash already cubed at that point. Just get your water boiling first. I know my stove top takes a while to boil water. Make sure the pasta is in the pot before you start heating the pan with the oil. Wait a few minutes between this because the oil pan will not take long. Mash the squash (or sweet potato) while you are waiting. I think these changes will help make this meal better.

Until tomorrow...