Ridiculous Pasta

We started getting boxes of organic produce again. Turns out, there's a service in delaware - Door to Door Organics.

The first box arrived on Monday. I love this kind of stuff, it's kind of an Iron Chef Challenge. What do I do with the box o' food? Tonight, it's ridiculous pasta. I'm calling it that because I took what should be "simple" - a butternut squash and spinach pasta recipe, and elaborated on it until it was kind of over-the-top. Overall, it was worth it.

By browning most of the squash ahead of time, you can make a nice sauce from the remaining squash, but the part you sauté ends up being firmer and plays a real role in the meal, rather than becoming kind of a soupy sauce thing. This is how I ended up cooking the recipe, after tasting it, I would probably have increased the amount of mushroom in the sauce, as well as tomato paste, and probably topped it with some crushed hazelnuts.

Ingredients:

• Smallish Butternut Squash (1.5 lbs), peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
  
• 2 portabella caps, gilled and cut into 1/2" cubes
  
• 1 leek, washed and sliced thin (white and light green parts)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 c dried cranberries
• 2/3 c dry white wine
• 1 c chicken stock
• 1t dried sage
• 4T unsalted butter
• 2T tomato paste
• Olive Oil for sauteeing
• 2c spinach
  
• 1 lb pappardelle pasta (I made mine from scratch)

Preparation:
Heat a large frypan. Sauté the mushrooms in batches so to not crowd the pan (that way they brown better), until they're softened and browned, approx 3-5 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove to a bowl.

Sauté approximately 3/4 of the squash cubes (I used the neck of the squash here, as it cubes up more prettily), until fork-tender, approx 8-10 minutes. Remove to the same bowl as the mushrooms.

Sauté the leeks and garlic for 3-5 minutes, until softened. Add the butter, let it melt and brown a little bit. Add the wine, and scrape up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock, sage, tomato paste, reserved squash, and cranberries. Adjust the salt, add a little bit of red pepper or black pepper if you desire. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, and let it simmer for approx 30 minutes, half-covered, until the cranberries and squash are mooshy.

Meanwhile, prepare the pasta however you want. Did I mention that I made mine from scratch? Oh yeah, I did. Well, I'm mentioning it again. I'm pretty cool.

Once the squash has cooked through and the pasta has drained, moosh things up a bit, then pour the sauce into the pasta cooking pot (or some other handy pot - my frypan wasn't big enough to assemble the dish). Add the spinach and cook for a few minutes over low heat until the spinach is wilted. Mix in the sauteed mushrooms and squash, as well as the pasta. Toss with cheese to taste. Eat.