This post is sponsored by Pasta Garofalo®. The opinions and text are all mine.
This creamy mushroom pasta with butternut squash and crispy prosciutto is the stuff my fall dreams are made of. High-quality pasta tossed with sauteed mixed mushrooms, roasted butternut squash and a sauce that is creamy but not too heavy and then finished with crispy prosciutto. The blend of flavors is perfect with the sweetness of the butternut squash, the saltiness of the prosciutto, and the umami of the mushrooms.
Fun story: my grandmother requested a pasta dinner when I was visiting her in Florida last week, so I created this pasta for dinner one night. She raved over the flavors in the dish and told me she was surprised by how much she enjoyed the addition of the roasted butternut squash.
PREMIUM PASTA MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE
Using premium pasta can help to give everyday dinners a gourmet feel. My grandmother and I both went crazy over both the texture and the taste of Pasta Garofalo®’s fusilli pasta. I think we talked about how much we liked the actual pasta noodles in the dish for at least five minutes (we share a deep love for pasta, haha).
Pasta Garofalo is an Italian pasta with an over 200-year history. The pasta is made in Italy with only one ingredient – 100% highest-quality durum wheat semolina. They offer a variety of short and long cuts. Their fusilli shortcut was perfect in this dish but I also adore their long-cut spaghetti noodles. They feature a rough-to-the-touch texture that helps my favorite homemade spaghetti sauce “stick” to the pasta.
I buy Pasta Garofalo at my local The Fresh Market. Check out their website to see where you can find it in your area.
THE INGREDIENT LINEUP
Here are the key players in this pasta dish. I really feel that each ingredient adds something special and important to the dish.
- Pasta Garofalo Fusilli Pasta – I love this pasta shape because it’s bite-sized, locks flavor into every bite, and just looks fun!
- Mushrooms – I used two different varieties, baby portobello and oyster. You can really do any blend of mixed mushrooms here! Don’t be afraid of the pound of mushrooms that this recipe calls for…they cook down a ton but are also meant to be a key element of the dish.
- Shallots – a bit lighter and more delicate than onion and perfect for this dish.
- Garlic – can you even make a pasta dish without garlic?
- White Wine – to deglaze the pan that you cooked the mushrooms, shallots and garlic in to get all of those caramelized brown bits incorporated into the sauce.
- Heavy Cream – there is just enough heavy cream in this recipe to give it a creamy, luxurious texture but not enough to make it feel heavy or overly rich. Promise.
- Butter – just a little to help make the creamy sauce
- Parmesan Cheese – to finish off the cream sauce
- Roasted Butternut Squash – I truly believe this is the magical ingredient that brings all of these flavors together. Roasting it separately helps you get that great caramelized finish that adds a lot of dimension to the flavor.
- Lemon Juice – for a pop of brightness at the end.
- Parsley – love the color and flavor it adds to the dish.
- Prosciutto – move over bacon. Crispy prosciutto is the winner here. Perfectly salty, thin and crispy.
HOW IT ALL COMES TOGETHER
This dish happens in a few individual steps that all come together at the end.
- Boil the pasta. I cooked my pasta in a big pot of salted water for about 10 minutes.
- Roast the butternut squash. I roasted my butternut squash with olive oil and kosher salt for about 25-30 minutes on 375.
- Sauté and crumble the prosciutto. I sautéed my prosciutto with a little olive oil and cooked it for about 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Sauté the mushrooms, shallots and garlic. I sautéed my mushrooms and shallots over medium low heat for about 15 minutes and then added the garlic at the end. I wanted to cook them a little lower and slower so that they would cook down and caramelize without getting overly browned.
I promise that these individual steps are simple and straightforward. Once they are completed the final dish comes together easily and quickly.
I feel sure that you guys are going to love Pasta Garofalo and this fall-inspired pasta dish as much as I do! I really enjoyed creating this recipe and spending time in the kitchen bringing it all together. I also think it would be a fun one to do for a date night or with kids who like to cook since there are separate elements in the dish.
Here’s the recipe!
THE RECIPE
PrintCreamy Mushroom Pasta with Butternut Squash and Crispy Prosciutto
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This creamy mushroom pasta with butternut squash and crispy prosciutto is the perfect fall pasta dish. High-quality pasta tossed with sautéed mixed mushrooms, roasted butternut squash, a sauce that is creamy but not too heavy and then finished with crispy prosciutto.
Ingredients
- 4 cups dry Pasta Garofalo Fusilli Pasta (about two-thirds of the bag)
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
- 3 ounces thinly-sliced prosciutto
- 2 (heaping) cups peeled, diced butternut squash
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound mixed mushrooms (portobello, oyster, crimini, button, shiitake), cleaned and sliced/chopped
- 1 medium shallot, finely sliced and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Toss butternut squash in two tablespoons of olive oil and roast at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, or until soft and lightly caramelized. Set aside.
- Sauté prosciutto in one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side. Place on a plate layered with paper towels to cool and then roughly chop. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cook pasta according to package directions.
- While squash is roasting and water for pasta is coming to a boil, sauté mushrooms and shallots over medium low heat with two tablespoons of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of kosher salt. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic during last two minutes of cooking, careful not to let it burn.
- Deglaze mushroom pan with white wine. Scraping bottom to get up the brown bits.
- Add butter and stir until melted in with mushrooms and wine. Add heavy cream, parmesan and lemon juice and stir until combined. Keeping cooking over low heat, until sauce thickens slightly, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the cooked pasta, butternut squash and chopped parsley. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Top skillet with more shredded parmesan and the crispy prosciutto.