Fettucine with Butternut and Gorgonzola Sauce

Source: Cooking Light

This rich dish works well for a dinner party--simply add a tossed salad, bread, and wine. Gorgonzola is a creamy blue cheese that creates a luscious sauce. If you use another type of blue cheese, the sauce will still taste great but not be as creamy. To help cut prep time, look for prechopped butternut squash, which some large supermarkets stock in the produce section.

1 tablespoon butter
3 cups vertically sliced onion
3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, divided
8 cups hot cooked fettuccine (about 1 pound uncooked pasta)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, squash, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper; sauté 6 minutes or until the squash is almost tender. Add minced garlic; sauté 1 minute. Cover and set aside.

Bring 2 cups milk to a boil in a saucepan. Combine the remaining 1 cup milk and flour, stirring well with a whisk; gradually add to boiling milk, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup cheese, and stir until smooth.

Combine squash mixture, pasta, and cheese mixture in a large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon salt; toss well to combine. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup parsley, chopped walnuts, lemon rind, and the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 429(25% from fat); FAT 11.9g (sat 6.6g,mono 2.2g,poly 2g); PROTEIN 17.6g; CHOLESTEROL 26mg; CALCIUM 299mg; SODIUM 723mg; FIBER 5.4g; IRON 3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 65.5g

Julie Grimes Bottcher
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2006

I talked about this recipe HERE.