butternut squash noodles with brown butter and crispy sage

Anyone else feeling like the time between Christmas and New Years is confusing?  Like, you don’t know what day it is or what you are supposed to be doing, much less eating??

Should I be eating healthy?  Or should I be eating all the cookies?  Or maybe I should be covering my broccoli in chocolate chip cookie dough??!  Such big decisions to be made…

So with the hope of getting through this last week of the year with the least amount of confusion as possible, here’s a healthy-ish meal topped with a little bit of decadence – butternut squash noodles tossed in browned butter and topped with toasted hazelnuts, parmesan cheese, and crispy sage!!

Now if you are thinking that this dish sounds extremely difficult to prepare, I am here to tell you that this is really a very easy and delicious dish that just looks super fancy and difficult!  😉Here’s how easy it really is: Step one involves peeling and turning a butternut squash into noodles with a spiralizer (I use this one).  Next, you will need to toast some hazelnuts and give them a rough chop.  And finally, fry a few sage leaves in some olive oil and you are ready to  put your dish together!

 

Onto the stove goes a sauté pan and some butter – and we are going to make the browned butter sauce.  Have you ever browned butter before?  It’s a delicious way of adding lots of flavor to a dish that relies on butter as it’s main ingredient.  Just by cooking the butter a little past the melting point, the milk solids become brown and toasted which creates a wonderful nutty aroma and flavor!

So the butter gets browned, the noodles get tossed in all that brown buttery deliciousness and then onto a plate they go to be topped with toasted hazelnuts, copious amounts of parmesan cheese, and the crispy sage!!  It’s the most perfect meal for this time of the year – healthy and decadent all mixed together!!

I hope you guys are having a wonderful holiday season so far!!  I’ll be back with all kinds of healthy creations in the New Year but until then, please pass a plate of this yummy butternut squash pasta with browned butter and crispy sage my way!!

XO,

Jenn

butternut squash noodles with brown butter, parmesan and crispy sage

makes 4-6 servings

special equipment: spiralizer (here’s a link to the one I use) or mandoline (this brand is great)

1 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/4 pounds)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil or canola oil

1 bunch fresh sage, leaves only

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into smallish pieces

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shelled hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.   Add the butternut squash to the boiling water and cook for about three minutes, or until just barely al dente.  Drain the squash noodles and set aside.

Meanwhile, place the olive oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat until hot.  Add a few sage leaves to the hot oil and fry them, about 1 minute each.  Transfer the leaves to a kitchen towel or a paper towel to drain.  Continue until all the leaves are fried.  Drain the oil and set the leaves aside.

Wipe out the skillet with a towel.   Add the butter in the same skillet over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon so that it melts evenly.  Once the butter begins to foam and form brown bits, add the garlic and the nutmeg and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the butter is browned with a nutty aroma.  Remove the skillet from the heat.

Add the squash noodles, the salt and pepper, and half of the parmesan to the skillet and use tongs to toss together until the noodles are evenly coated with the brown butter and cheese.  Divide the noodles evenly onto plates or place everything onto a platter, sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the noodles and top with hazelnuts and fried sage.  Serve immediately.

my notes:  The oil from the fried sage leave is great addition to your kitchen!  Toss some potatoes in it before roasting them, add the oil to your next bread recipe (try it in this focaccia recipe!), use it to marinate fresh cheese (recipe here), drizzle it over this white bean stew, and even use it to make a marinade for your next chicken dinner!