Recipe & photography by Florence Blair.
Ingredients
Serves 4
8 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 butternut squash (about 600g), peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Pinch of chilli flakes
Small bunch of sage (about 30g)
1/2 small nutmeg kernel, finely grated
50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1 unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
350g casarecce
20g parmesan, finely grated
Recipe
In a large pot, warm 4 tbsp olive oil then add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook over a medium-
low heat for 10 mins, stirring every so often, until soft and golden.
Add the squash, garlic, chilli, a couple of whole sage sprigs and nutmeg. Cook for 10 minutes,
stirring every so often, then add 300ml water, or enough to just cover the squash. Bring up to a
simmer, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until tender.
Meanwhile, make the topping. Put 4 tbsp olive oil and the chopped hazelnuts in a small frying pan
over a medium-low heat. Fry for about 3-4 minutes until lightly golden then tear in the remaining
sage leaves and fry for 30-60 seconds until beginning to crisp. Be careful not to take the sage too
far, as it will continue to cook in its residual heat. Immediately remove from the heat, grate in the
lemon zest and season with salt. Set aside.
Once you can crush the squash with the back of a wooden spoon, remove and discard the sage
sprigs before crushing just over half the squash.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until just shy of al dente.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta into the pot of squash, along with any splashes of pasta
water that piggy back with it. Stir in the parmesan and lemon juice. Toss well, adding splashes of
pasta water to loosen as needed. Continue to toss with pasta water until the sauce coats the
pasta and becomes almost creamy. Taste for seasoning then serve with the hazelnut and sage
topping.
