I may have said this last year about this time, but I love Fall. Fall colors, Fall weather, and especially Fall flavors. Although I switched up the ingredients a little bit in this recipe, I still think it was a great one to welcome in the new season.
Instead of using butternut squash, I used a sweet potato... or is it yam? Apparently it depends on what part of the country you're from, so go with what you know. I halved the recipe so I wouldn't feel like I needed to invite the entire on-duty crew of local firemen to dinner, although I'm thinking that may not be such a bad idea after all...
... next time, boys.
Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, and Fontina
1 small butternut squash (2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound button or cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and halved if large
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
2 ounces Fontina or Gruyere, grated (1/2 cup), plus more for serving
Heat oven to 450 degrees. On two rimmed baking sheets, toss the squash and mushrooms with the sage, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once and rotating pans halfway through, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water; drain the tortellini and return to the pot. Add the vegetables, Fontina, 1/4 cup of the cooking water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss gently to coat (add more cooking water if the pasta seems dry). Sprinkle with additional Fontina.
As I mentioned before, I used a sweet potato instead of the butternut squash... mostly because I wanted to make a smaller recipe. If you follow in my footsteps, though, you won't need to roast the veggies for quite as long, maybe more like 15 minutes. I'm not quite sure roasting the sage for the entire time is a great idea either, as it tends to crisp up a little too much. Maybe add it halfway through the roasting time.
I couldn't find Fontina at the store, so used Asiago. Truth be told, I'm not sure that's a truly equal substitute, but hey, delicious cheese is delicious cheese and the Asiago was good in my book. Really, you could use anything you like.