Tortellini with Butternut Squash, Mushroom, & Fontina

Hands-on Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

1 small butternut squash (2 lbs), peeled & cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 button or cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed & halved if large (I used cut up baby bella mushrooms c...uz that's what I had)
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves (I actually used thyme cuz I didn't have fresh sage)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Black Pepper
1 lb. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini (I had spinach & cheese tortellini & cheese ravioli, so i used that)
2 ounces fontina or gruyere, grated=1/2 cup

Heat oven to 450F. On a rimmed (or 2 depending on how much butternut squash you have) toss the squash, mushrooms with sage & oil, salt, & pepper. Roast, tossing once, until tender. About 20-25 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 squash & mushrooms, fontina, 1/4 cup cooking water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss gently to coat (add more water if the pasta seems dry). Sprinkle with additional fontina.

**Now, I used gruyere, cuz I had some leftover and instead roasting the mushrooms, I actually made a cheesy mushroom garlic cream sauce instead of making the sauce in the recipe with the cooking water... For the cream sauce, I put a little extra virgin olive oil in a pot, added fresh chopped garlic & the mushrooms & sauteed for a bit. Then I added half & half (or you can use heavy cream which will make it thicker, but I had some half & half & used that). I brought it to a boil and to make it a little thicker, I added some flour to my half & half, then added the cheese and it made the sauce! Poured the sauce over the tortellini & butternut squash & added more gruyere cheese to the top! It was soooo good!!!



Recipe from Real Simple Magazine, October 2011