Butternut Squash & Beef Ragu

Season beef with salt and pepper to taste. Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef, browning on all sides, about 5–7 minutes. Remove beef from pan and set aside.

Add diced onion, carrot, celery and garlic to Dutch oven. Sauté over medium heat until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Once vegetables are tender, add thyme and red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste. Continue to sauté, 1 minute.

Add dry white wine, 1 tablespoon butter and yellow tomatoes, simmer over low heat until tomatoes begin to soften. Use the back of a wooden spoon to crush tomatoes. Roughly blend sautéed vegetable mixture, with a hand immersion blender or regular blender. (Note: If using a regular blender, let vegetable mixture cool slightly before blending to avoid a big, big mess!) Return to pot, simmer on low.

In the meantime, boil cubed butternut squash and chicken stock until butternut squash is fork tender. Puree butternut squash with chicken stock (no need to drain) in blender or immersion blender until smooth. (Again, see above note regarding cooling time to avoid a big, big mess!)

Add butternut squash puree, browned beef and tomato paste to Dutch oven. Simmer on low, covered, for 2-1/2 to 3 hours, or until beef begins to shred.

Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Remove Dutch oven from heat and use two forks to finely shred beef. Add salt and pepper, to taste, cover to keep warm.

Add pasta to boiling water. As pasta cooks, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Cook pasta to al dente, drain well. Return pasta to pot, add butter and a little reserved pasta water to loosen.

To serve, portion pasta into bowl and top with butternut squash ragu, fresh thyme leaves and grated Parmesan. Eat it all.