I love Thanksgiving! Each year we string together a line of tables accommodate anywhere between 15-22 people! I love that my family all comes together to dine around a long formally set table. I love the traditions that come along with this holiday from watching the Macy’s Day parade on T.V. as I am cooking in the morning to ending the night with a slice of pumpkin pie and coffee and leafing through all the Black Friday store flyers with my mother, sister’s, aunts and cousins! But, most of all I love making my family happy by serving everyone’s favorite dishes and enjoying all the dishes that my family brings to the table too!
I always prepare a large turkey of course and my dad loves getting the leg. My sister Vicky loves my stuffed eggs, my sister Lindsey brings everyone’s favorite scalloped potatoes, my mom loves my turnips and carrots and so on and so forth. But, each year I love to add one or two dishes that are new just to keep things lively. This year, I have developed a side dish that I am quite sure will become a new family favorite! Butternut Squash Orzo in Sage butter is a velvety sweet and savory side dish that has a few different levels of flavor and will definitely hold its own along side my mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce!
If you are looking to spruce up your holiday menu, give this one a try… I’ll show you how I do it…
Here are some butternut squashes… If you are looking for a squash pay attention to the color… the darker the color, the sweeter and more ripe your squash… so the one on the bottom is the one we will be using today.
There are a couple of ways to tackle this oddly shaped vegetable. I like to start by slicing it down the middle to give you a stable surface to work with.
Look how nice and orange that flesh is.
Scoop out those seeds along with their connective tissue… You can totally roast these just like pumpkin seeds.
Here is one method of removing the skin. Start by slicing it up into 1″ slices.
Now just remove the skin from each slice.
The other way to do this is to leave the half squash whole and just carefully peel.
Cover a cookie sheet with some parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
Dice up the peeled squash and spread out on the cookie sheet.
Add on a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Toss the diced squash in the oil. Pop this in a 350°F oven for about 20-25 minutes until fork tender.
Meanwhile get a pot of salted boiling water going on the stove and add in a box of orzo. Cook to the box instructions.
In a large skillet, melt a stick of salted butter.
Grab a couple of shallots. If you don’t have shallots… just use an onion, dice and soak in water for a few minutes.
Dice up your shallots.
Grap a handful of fresh sage leaves, this is really an important ingredient, fresh is best here.
Chop it up.
Add your shallots and sage into the butter.
Pull your squash out of the oven and be sure it is fork tender.
Add the squash into the skillet and coat with the butter, shallots and sage.
Drain your orzo.
Once the squash is coated, add in the orzo into the skillet and toss for a few minutes until the flavor has time to penetrate the pasta.
Butternut Squash Orzo in Sage Butter
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
1 lb. cooked orzo
1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 stick salted butter
6 fresh sage leaves
2 shallots, diced
olive oil
kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Start a pot of water boiling and add some salt, cook orzo to package directions for al dente.
On a parchment lined cookie sheet, spread out diced squash. Drizzle with olive oil and toss. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until fork tender.
In a large skillet over med/high heat, add in butter. Add in shallots and sautée until tender. Add in sage. When squash comes out of the oven, add it into the skillet and toss in the buttery sauce. Then drain the orzo and add it to the skillet. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!