Butternut Squash Cheese Sauce Rigatoni

Preheat your oven to 425F and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Add your butternut squash, onions, garlic, sage, thyme, sea salt, pepper and drizzle of olive oil. Bake for ~30-35 mins. While the squash is roasting; I like to prep my pasta. Use any pasta of your choice and follow the instructions on said box.

When the squash is done roasting, add the liquid (bone or veggie broth) first to your blender, then the drained cashews, and the roasted veggies. As a final step; add your red pepper flakes & Tabasco and blend until smooth. Bring the velvety sauce out of the blender and pour it into a large saucepan and warm it over medium/low heat. IF adding any cheese, you can add it to the sauce once it’s in the pan and starting to bubble, it will thicken nicely. I suggest 1/3 cup of grated parmesan, OR pecorino Romano OR Manchego. Or, you can add it to your plate right before serving.

Bring the drained pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce. Toss to coat. Add some more red pepper flakes and coarse black pepper. I topped mine with a bit of grated Manchego!