Strozzapreti with Honeynut Squash, Radicchio and Taleggio
This satisfying winter dish hits every pleasure point: lush colors of deep orange-golds and purple-reds, mild and fruity cheese and the hearty, elongated form of strozzapreti. It can be served warm or at room temperature as a pasta salad.Ferrazzani says that this recipe was written especially for her dried strozzapreti, but it could be prepared with a shorter pasta like her fresh cavatelli. If using fresh pasta, start it after you’ve cooked the garlic because the cooking time will be shorter.
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds Honeynut (or butternut) squash
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided use
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound dry strozzapreti Semolina Artisanal Pasta (or other artisan pasta)
- 1 large clove garlic, sliced
- 1 head radicchio (about 12 ounces), cored and chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 lemon, juice (about ¼–⅓ cup) and zest
- 4 ounces taleggio cheese, cut into ¾-inch cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Peel the squash and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Add squash cubes to a bowl, drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
- Spread squash evenly over the lined baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven until squash is tender and starting to caramelize, about 30–35 minutes. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just shy of al dente, about 5 minutes.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, and heat until oil shimmers. Add garlic and a pinch of salt and stir frequently until garlic softens and becomes translucent. Add radicchio and a pinch of kosher salt and stir. Cook until radicchio has softened and wilted; this step goes quickly. Remove from heat.
- Drain pasta (reserving 1 cup of pasta water for the sauce) and add to sauté pan with garlic and radicchio, along with reserved pasta water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Turn heat to medium, and stir mixture until pasta is coated with lemon mixture and the starch in the pasta water has emulsified into a glossy sauce, about 30 seconds to a minute.
- Add cubed squash to warm it back up and stir. Remove from heat and stir in taleggio. Drizzle with remaining ¼ cup olive oil and serve.
Notes
If you don’t have a traditional sauté pan, use a 12–inch skillet. Instead of adding the pasta to the skillet with the sauce, add the pasta to a large bowl and pour the sauce over it. Add squash and toss to incorporate. Add cheese and toss to combine the ingredients. Drizzle with remaining ¼ cup olive oil and serve.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Leah Ferrazzani is the owner of Semolina Artisanal Pasta in Pasadena, SemolinaPasta.com.
