Last Friday I had the opportunity to meet New York Times food writer Mark Bittman. I was in a group of about a dozen journalists who sat down with the kitchen guru at a natural food expo in Boston.
Butternut squash on pasta
Bittman, besides being a cookbook author of “How To Cook Everything,” has recently published “Food Matters,” which includes a one-month food plan based on the guideline that foodies are advocating right now: eat mostly plants and less in general.
Our chat was informal, but one thing in particular stood out to me: He said that his life really changed when he went into the produce section and bought one of everything he saw so he was forced to learn how to cook and enjoy new dishes.
I applied this same spirit when I stopped by a farm stand on the way back from kayaking on the Concord River last weekend. I was eyeing a row of local butternut squash propped up in a rustic wooden crate. I’ve eaten butternut squash many times but I can’t recall ever actually making something from the vegetable that looks more like a dumbbell weight than something edible. With some trepidation, I bought one.
The squash sat for a few days on my kitchen counter quietly mocking my lack of knowledge of what to do with it. I figured if Bittman had gotten me this far he’d probably have a solution. Sure enough, I found this recipe for pasta with butternut squash on his food blog.
It was amazingly simple to make and good!
Oh, and one more thing. Not wanting to repeat my tongue-tied encounter at Michael Pollan’s book signing, at the Bittman chat I tentatively mentioned to the author that I had reviewed “Food Matters” for the Monitor. He very graciously said he had enjoyed my review.
See? There’s no reason to be afraid of strangely shaped vegetables and famous food writers.
(To read more about the conversation with Mark Bittman go here.)
Kitchen Report 
Great write-up Kendra! I love butternut squash ravioli. Hmmm! So I’m sure your pasta dish was equally as tasty! And anytime you want to make a trip to OH and cook plant dishes, the kitchen is all yours! Looking forward to your next installment.
Mmmmm….looks tasty! Can’t wait to try it! To clarify, does his recipe have the dry pasta to be cooked added to the cooked squash…or are they combined after they are both cooked? Couldn’t tell.
Thanks for the post!
Oh that’s a really good point. Right. So you add the cooked, drained pasta to the butternut squash that is still in the skillet, plus an additional 1/2 cup of the “reserve water” from the pasta pot. Then you mix it all together and add the cheese … yum!
The next time I try this I think I will substitute maple syrup for the sugar. Bet that’d be gooood!
I like the maple syrup idea. I often brush halves of Delicata squash with maple syrup and roast in the oven. Simple and delicious.
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