Baked Feta & Butternut Pasta

INGREDIENTS:

5 cups butternut squash about 1 large butternut squash

½ cup olive oil plus more for drizzling

2 hefty pinches salt (just shy of ½ tsp)

1 hefty pinch red pepper flakes *optional*

1 8 oz block feta cheese

1 lb pasta such as rotini, orzo, or ditalini

10 leaves fresh sage minced

3 cloves garlic finely minced

1 tablespoon hot honey (regular honey is fine too)

salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Toss butternut squash with olive oil, 2 hefty pinches of salt , and a few cranks of fresh pepper. Place the squash in a baking dish and put the block of feta in the middle. Drizzle the feta with a little bit of olive oil, red pepper flakes and add a fresh cracks of fresh pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.

Once 30 minutes has passed, take the butternut squash feta mixture out of the oven and slightly move the butternut squash - be sure not to touch the feta.

You just want to make sure the squash isn’t burnt on the bottom. Then, crank the heat up to 450 and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the feta is slightly browned.

Meanwhile, boil 1 lb of pasta in salty water. Once it’s al dente, strain and save 2 cups of the pasta water.

Once the feta is browned, remove the baking dish from the oven and immediately stir in minced garlic, minced sage leaves, and honey. Now add the pasta and 1 cup of pasta water and stir everything together.

If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved pasta water, little by little, until the sauce is creamy and smooth. Season the whole thing with more salt and pepper. You can also add more hot honey if needed!

I do not own this recipe I am just saving it for later! Recipe Credit: https://grilledcheesesocial.com/wprm_print/baked-feta-and-butternut-squash-pasta-with-sage-and-garlic