Winter Squash and Bacon Pasta - Test 1

https://www.cookingclassy.com/butternut-squash-pasta-carbonara/ 

https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-butternut-squash-bacon-pasta

1 - I  made this with the bacon ends from our first crop of pork. The butcher did a good job at the smoking! On the whole, the recipe is good, but the link between the bacon and the squash is pretty weak. For next time, I have increased the sage and nutmeg and added hot pepper powder.

2 - Yup, that worked. I removed the butternut as the only option, and used a Burgess Buttercup instead, with the changes in the spicing, and it worked well. There is lots of sauce, so I changed the amount of pasta from 14oz to 1lb. Seems to be a winner, but still testing.

3 - Made again with Burgess buttercup. I will want to try it with other squashes, but I'm equally happy to favor the Burgess. I also used a smaller quantity of squash - my squash was small and I didn't want to have to commit to a bit of another and have to figure out what to make with the rest at a later date. And I thought, what if I only had one squash? So I thought working out a range of quantity for the squash would be a good idea. It worked out just fine, but what it revealed was more spiciness from the cayenne - I thought it was a bit too spicy, but Ben and Paz both were fine with it. Since I want to build in flexibility, I will also include a 'to taste' option for the cayenne.

6 slices (6 oz) bacon, chopped
1 2 Tbsps 7 leaves finely chopped fresh sage
1 small yellow onion chopped (1 heaping cup)
1 (1 1/4lb to 1 3/4lb) sweet winter squash (like Burgess or even pumpkin), peeled, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth
1 generous pinch ground nutmeg

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream (or half and half for a lighter option)
1 lb dry linguine or spaghetti
1/3 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1. Cook bacon in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (reducing heat slightly if needed) until browned and crisp, add sage and toss to coat in drippings. 
2. Remove bacon and sage from skillet while leaving 2 Tbsps rendered bacon fat in skillet, remove bacon and sage and set aside.
3. Add onions to drippings in skillet and sauté over medium-high heat 2 minutes, then add squash, season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally 7 minutes (onions should be beginning to brown lightly). 
4. Add in garlic and cook, tossing occasionally, 2 minutes longer. Pour in chicken broth, sprinkle in nutmeg and cayenne and bring to a boil then reduce heat and allow to simmer until broth has reduced by half, about 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook linguine to al dente in a large pot of salted water according to directions on package (ideally time it so pasta finishes cooking nearly the same time as the sauce is finished in the next step below). Drain and reserve 1 cup pasta water.
6. Let simmered squash mixture cool for a few minutes then transfer mixture to a blender (reserve skillet) and add cream to blender*, cover with lid then remove lids center insert. While holding a folded kitchen towel over lid blend mixture until smooth.
7. In reserved skillet combined drained pasta, pureed squash mixture, and 1/4 cup reserved pasta water. 
8. Cook over medium heat, tossing and adding in more pasta water to thin as needed, until sauce coats pasta, about 2 minutes. 
9. Toss in 1/3 cup parmesan, season with salt and pepper to taste. Plate and serve pasta topped with parmesan, bacon, sage and more pepper.