March 26, 2013

Orecchiette with Squash and Kale

The Kitchy Kitchen is one of my favorite food blogs, as I mentioned in this post. Her recipes always make my mouth water, and this particular one went to the top of my list very quickly.

One of my favorite parts about cooking is the improvising nature of it. For example: I wanted to make this recipe, but we didn’t have enough time to roast the squash. No big deal, let’s saute it. Should we go out to get burrata cheese? Nah. We’ve got a 4 cheese blend. You can always make a recipe your own and adjust based on your tastes or even just what is in your cabinet.

So… The Kitchy Kitchen’s Orecchiette Cacio e Pepe with Roasted Squash and Kale turned into… well, our own version. And I think it turned out pretty beautiful, if I do say so myself:

Here’s how you make it!

Print Recipe Here

Ingredients

3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 yellow onion

olive oil

salt and pepper

thyme

handful of pine nuts

2 cups of kale

1/2 pound whole wheat orecchiette pasta

pecorino romano cheese

burrata, mozzarella, or shredded cheese blend

—

Chop the onions and then add to a large saute pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Meanwhile, start boiling a pot of water for your pasta.

Once the onions start to turn translucent, add the squash to the pan.

Cover for 2-3 minutes to steam the squash.

Then, saute until it starts to get tender. Stir occasionally as it cooks.

Season with thyme…

…and stir in pine nuts.

Wash and tear the kale into bite size pieces.

Add to the onions and squash.

Your pasta should almost be done, so add a few big ladles of pasta water to this mixture. The heat of the liquid will help wilt the kale.

Yup, that’s ready for some pasta.

Drain it and then add it all right to the pan.

The Kitchy Kitchen used romano and burrata cheeses, but I had this Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio on hand. The combination of Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, and Provolone had a great flavor for this dish, and it melted into the pasta easily.