Creamy rigatoni with mushrooms, butternut squash, and pine nuts recipe

We wanted to create a pasta dish that brought out the delicate, earthy flavor hiding in supermarket mushrooms. We selected cremini mushrooms, which have a meatier texture and a more intense, woodsy flavor than button mushrooms but are still readily available. Butternut squash heightened the dish’s wintertime appeal and gave it heft and a subtle sweetness that perfectly complemented the mushrooms. To start, we sautéed the mushrooms with shallots, garlic, thyme, and a small amount of salt to help the cremini release their liquid, then added the squash. The liquid released by the mushrooms was just enough to steam the squash, and cooking both together gave the smaller mushroom pieces time to brown and create fond. We removed the vegetables, and then poured in chicken broth and water to cook our pasta. Adding heavy cream toward the end of cooking, and then stirring vigorously while mixing in Parmesan cheese, drew out the pasta’s starches and created a thick, creamy sauce, into which we folded our meaty cooked vegetables. A splash of lemon juice, a sprinkling of fresh chives, and some toasted pine nuts were the perfect finishes to the dish. You can substitute 1 pound of ziti or penne for the rigatoni, if desired.