Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Pasta

This is a great alternative to a butternut squash lasagna.  It's got all the great flavor, but in a fraction of the time.  Most of the time is just roasting squash, the hands on time is very little.  

Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 lb. pasta (I like rigatoni here)
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium butternut squash (about 1 lb.)
• 4 oz. goat cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
• salt & pepper, to taste

Serves 4-6
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 425. Slice squash lengthwise, remove seeds, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Roast skin-side up until soft, about 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions.  
When squash can easily be prickled with a fork remove from oven to cool; you'll want it to be cool enough to handle, but not cold.  When squash is cool enough to handle, remove skin and add squash to large bowl with goat cheese.  Mash squash and goat cheese until you get a smooth consistency.  
When pasta is cooked, drain, saving 1 cup pasta water.  Add pasta to squash mixture and thin with pasta water until you get the consistency you'd like (for me, this is 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup pasta water).
Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve immediately.