Eat Your Pasta: Handmade Pasta with Pancetta and Butternut Squash

One meal I had in Rome that stands out was the signature dish of a family-run restaurant in Trastevere called Trattoria di Lucia. The dish is apparently unique to Rome, called spaghetti alla gricia, and only requires two main ingredients: guanciale (cured pork cheek) and Pecorino Romano cheese. So simple, yet delicious. I wanted to add more of a "fall/winter" spin on it, and found some good-looking butternut squash and brussels sprouts at the fruit market that I thought could go well with the pancetta (unfortunately I found no guanciale) and cheese.

Handmade Pasta with Pancetta and Butternut Squash

1 lb. handmade (or store-bought dried) noodle pasta
1 medium butternut squash, split in half and peeled
4 oz. pancetta, cubed
1 1/2 c of brussels sprout leaves
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 c freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
The pasta turned out quite good, although I would probably eliminate the brussels sprouts next time since they didn't provide much flavor. Also the noodles themselves were a bit too thick, as I mentioned in my last post. But overall, I thought the butternut squash provided a smooth and sweet counterpart to the salty pancetta and Pecorino Romano. P.S. In case you are wondering what the garnish is, I wanted to try frying some sage leaves that I had leftover from the ice cream of a few days ago. They looked nice, but I have to be honest, I didn't end up eating more than a bite!

Next up: Some holiday dishes!