This recipe was inspired by a squash pasta dish created by Giada De Laurentiis, but I changed quite a bit because I thought her version was rather bland. Actually, I changed pretty much everything. The only similarity is that it has both squash and shrimp, even the way it is prepared is different. This is a great summer dish, easy to make, and a great way to get in an extra vegetable without realizing it!
My dad makes a delicious squash puree as one of our Thanksgiving side dishes. He roasts butternut squash which I think brings out a great full nutty flavor. I decided to roast my squash to bring out this full flavor. I picked up the shrimp from the seafood counter in whole foods, and was surprised that it was pretty reasonably priced, and definitely tasted fresh.
As always, I seem to be unable to cook small portions of anything. I ended up using the whole box of rigatoni. Needless to say, I had a lot of leftovers (which made for great lunches!). If you are cooking for 1 or 2, I recommend that you half the recipe.
Ingredients
1 Package Rigatoni Noodles
1/2 lb Peeled and Deveined Shrimp
1 large Butternut Squash (4 cups cubed)
1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
1/2 Cup Vegetable Stock
1/2 Cup Whole Milk
4-6 tbsp Olive Oil
1 White Onion
2 Slices of Prosciutto
4 Cloves of Garlic
Fresh Basil (4-5 larger leaves)
Salt
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the Butternut Squash into 1-1.5 inch cubes. Try to keep the size of the cubes uniform so they all cook in the same amount of time. Cut half the onion into 1-inch chunks, and peel 3 garlic cloves (these do not need to be minced). Combine these three ingredients into a roasting pan, and toss with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil until all pieces are covered. Season with a little salt and pepper. Bake in the preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until you can easily smash the cubes with a fork.
Once the butternut squash is done roasting, transfer to a food processor, make sure to pour in the olive oil left over in the pan as it holds a lot of flavor from being roasted with the garlic and onion. Pour in 1/2 cup each of chicken stock, and whole milk. Food process the mixture until it is a smooth sauce. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Keep the oven on! At this point, place the 2 slices of prosciutto on a piece of tin foil. Crisp them in the oven. With the oven at 400 degrees, this should only take about 5 minutes. Now is the perfect time to roast your pine nuts. I simply throw them on a skillet and keep them moving on the heated skillet until they turn golden brown.
Meanwhile, saute the shrimp with the remaining olive oil, a minced clove of garlic, salt and pepper. I used medium sized shrimp, and I cooked them for about 2-3 minutes on each side. You don't want to overcook them as they will turn rubbery.
Rigatoni are a little thicker than the average noodle, so they need to be cooked longer, usually 10-12 minutes. I like mine al dente, so I boiled mine for 10. Once you have drained the noodles, combine them with the pasta, and chiffonaded basil (keep a little basil separate to sprinkle on top). Top this mixture with the shrimp, crisped prosciutto, roasted pine nuts, and the remaining basil. The crisped prosciutto adds a nice salty flavor to the dish, while the pine nuts compliment the nutty flavor of the roasted squash.
Enjoy!
