Pasta with Spicy Winter Squash

Tonight's recipe is from Food and Wine. It is a Mario Batali recipe. I made a couple of changes to the original recipe. First being the pasta. I do not understand why our grocery store has become so generic in its pasta selection over the last few months. The other changes were of course leaving out the garlic. And adding wine. When I went to add the squash it seemed like it would be a good thing to add some white wine. Yes it was a very good thing.

This recipe resulted in very generous portions for the two of us and enough to put in a casserole dish for the freezer.

Ingredients -
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pounds pasta
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Method -
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and crushed red pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the squash and thyme, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of white wine. Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta to the squash mixture in the skillet, then stir in 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water and toss gently to combine. Add the 3/4 cup of cheese, season with salt and pepper and stir gently; add a little more pasta water if necessary. Serve the pasta right away, passing more cheese at the table.