Fettuccine with Winter Squash, White Beans, and Sage

Apparently, I spoke too soon. This pasta recipe was perfecter.

Pasta Ingredients
1/2 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup mixed quinoa & chickpea flours (half & half)
1/8 tsp salt
1 pastured egg
1 tbsp warm water + 1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp olive oil
Liberal dousing white pepper (when using this recipe with winter squash)

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, then make a well in the center and add the olive oil and egg. Mash together with a fork, adding the milk and water as you go. When it forms a ball, take it out and knead it for 10 minutes on a very lightly floured cutting board. When dough is smooth and elastic, form a ball, set in a bowl, cover with saran wrap, and let sit for 30 minutes.

Break dough into quarters. Take each quarter, press lightly into a rough ball, and feed through the pasta machine at its widest setting. Fold in half, and repeat. Tuck the edges over to square the piece of dough, and feed through at the second-widest setting. Continue until setting 7, then hang to dry on a pasta tree. Repeat for each quarter of the dough. Let dry for about 30 minutes, then feed through the fettuccine attachment on your pasta machine to cut the noodles.

Cook in salted boiling water for 3 minutes until al dente (reserve a ladleful or two of the pasta water for the sauce).

Sauce Ingredients
4 cups cubed butternut squash (or cut into flat squares about 1/4" thick)
3 tbsp pine nuts
1 tbsp pastured butter
Olive oil
1 large leek, halved lengthwise and sliced (white and light green parts)
1 cup cooked cannellini beans (or sub canned)
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup veggie or chicken broth
Several big handfuls of baby mustard greens (or sub half arugula and half spinach)
12 sage leaves, sliced crosswise into thin ribbons
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Toss the squash pieces with olive oil, spread on a baking pan, and roast in the oven at 425 degrees until tender (15-30 minutes, depending on their size).

Heat a wide pan with deep sides over medium high heat. Add the pine nuts and toast until lightly brown, then remove and set aside.

Heat butter and a generous glug or two of olive oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and saute for another minute or two, then add the wine and stir, cooking, until it evaporates. Gently stir in the squash and 1/4 cup of broth and saute for a couple of minutes, adding a little more olive oil if necessary and a pinch or two of salt.

When the squash is heated through, add the greens and remaining broth and cover the pan to let the greens begin to wilt in the steam. Uncover, stir, and add the sage. Continue cooking until the greens are completely wilted, then add the lemon zest and white pepper, adjust salt to taste, and turn off the heat. Cover and let sit 5-10 minutes to let the flavors blend.

Add a ladleful or two of pasta water from the pot just before draining the fettuccine, and stir. Add the drained noodles back to the pot, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and toss with the sauce.

Serve hot, topped with a liberal sprinkling of pine nuts, parsley, and grated Parmesan.

Serves 2-3.