I am completely obsessed with all pasta dishes. I love the simplicity that allows bold flavors to be on the forefront. The puree made from roasted butternut squash and leeks can be very rich, but is perfectly balanced with the acid from the lemon. I have made this dish kosher by eliminating the pancetta. however, a good quality sea salt used with roasting the squash can achieve the same sweet and salty result.
Butternut Squash & Leek Tortellini
Servings
4 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash peeled and medium diced
- Olive oil for roasting
- 1 bunch leeks cleaned and thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 fresh sage leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
- 4 quarts heavily salted water
- 12 oz. fresh or dried tortellini
Instructions
- 1 Cut the skin off the butternut squash and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds from the inside. Cut the squash into medium sized pieces. Place on baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast at 425° for about 25 minutes, or until tender. 2 Cut off the dark green ends of the leeks. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and run under cold water to remove any soil. Pat leeks dry. Thinly slice leeks until root end. Add 2 tablespoons butter to a medium sized skillet on low heat, add leeks and sage. 3 Cook leeks on low heat for 20 minutes, adding remaining 2 tablespoons of butter after 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 4 Puree leeks and squash in food processor or with immersion blender with lemon zest and juice, until smooth. 5 Cook tortellini in salted boiling water according package instructions (approximately 3 minutes for fresh and 8 minutes for dried pasta). 6 Drain pasta and toss with puree. Top with fresh Parmesan and black pepper.
- by Jason Cohen as seen in Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine (Late Winter 2014) – Subscribe Now
Hi! I made a variation of this (hubby cannot have pasta) by slicing zuchinni and some of the butternut squash with a peeler to substitute as the noodles. He was very happy, and everything was gone in no time! The sauce is delicious. Thank you.
Made this tonight – delicious!