Monday's meal

Well it's summer time and I've been taking myself and my market bag to the Farmer's market to pickup fresh local offerings. There's so much goodness to be had there and everything taste so much better when it's fresh. In my house we love pasta, but I try and mix it up now and again to keep it from being boring. Here's a quick and easy tasty dish for you to enjoy. You can substitute regular bacon for the pancetta, but I think it's worth it's easy enough to find pancetta at your local market so why not use it. Enjoy!

Linguine with butternut squash, pancetta and goat cheese


8 slices of pancetta
1 large (2lbs) butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 cup of onion, minced
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp of pepper
6 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 16 oz. pack of linguine, cooked
1 tbsp olive oil


Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat until somewhat crisp. Remove and drain it on a paper towel. When cool, chop it up and set it aside. Reserving 2 tbsp of rendered fat in your skillet (if you don't have enough add olive oil to get approx. 2 tbsp). Add your squash, garlic and onions to skillet saute for about 5 mins. Stir in the broth and salt. Cover and simmer until squash is cooked through and softened, approximately 20 mins. While the squash is cooking, heat a pot of salted water over med-high heat and cook the linguine according to the package to al dente, approximately 8 mins. Drain, toss with a bit of oil and set aside. When the sauce is finished add half of the goat cheese to it, mixing well to combine. Put the cooked linguine in a large bowl, add the sauce and toss to mix well. Drizzle with the olive oil and add the pancetta, goat cheese and pepper. Serve with a nice crusty Italian bread and white wine.