All spiced up: squash pasta in a rosé butter sauce

By Danielle Rosenberg

A New Approach

At a certain point in every new adult’s life (yes, you are probably a new adult), he or she realizes every meal of the day should not and cannotconsist of cereal, macaroni and cheese, and/or Tyson’s brand frozen chicken nuggets. It is with this transition in mind that I have decided to focus the content of this column on creating a healthier, more sophisticated palate, while maintaining a simplistic approach to everyday cooking.

Since it is August, the peak of the growing season, my first recipe contains as a central ingredient one of the most abundant of summer vegetables: squash. This dish has a simple sauce made with a dry rosé (a dry white wine may certainly be substituted, though I strongly urge all on a budget to avoid white zinfandel at all costs) and is good for a light but filling meal. So without further ado, I present the recipe I admittedly just threw together one day.

Squash and Pasta in a Rosé Butter Sauce

2-3 Tbsps. unsalted butter

1 cup rosé

1 plump garlic clove, minced

½ Yellow squash (yellow for the color), sliced

1 tsp. dry dill weed

1 tsp. dry basil or 1 tbsp. freshly chopped basil

½ tsp. paprika

2 handfuls pasta (I used some wheat angel-hair pasta because it was all I had around)

1 cup baby spinach

Cook the pasta until it is al dente (per usual method).

Then, in a small sauté pan melt the butter and add the wine, bringing to a slow simmer to begin reducing the wine.

Add the minced garlic and sliced squash, stirring occasionally until the squash is cooked.

Turn the heat to low and stir in the dill weed, basil, paprika and spinach.

Let this cook until spinach has reduced a little (but not until it looks like it came frozen in a box), stirring all the while so as not to burn anything.

Plate the pasta and pour the sauce and vegetables on top.

Simple.

Serves 1-2 as a light meal.

Wine Pairing:

This dish tastes great with a dry white wine. I had a Greek white from Santorini with it which was slightly acidic with a floral, oaky scent.