Triple B meal

shells, bratwurst, Bentons bacon, butternut squash

I made a toss together triple B meal of bratwurst, bacon and butternut squash. I had 2 brats from Emerald Glen, I had a few strips of Benton's bacon and more than enough butternut squash and I thought these flavors would be good together. I also stopped by Lazzaroli and there were boxes and boxes of shells in the fridge for sale, and I bought a bunch of them. Tom doesn't normally sell these to the public, so it is a real treat to have them. When I was at Lazzarolis, Tom said that I should get peas to add a little sweetness to the dish, and it is fun to eat when peas roll into the shells. I stuck up my nose at industrial frozen peas, but I did think that diced butternut squash would be a good sweetness substitute for the peas. Also, I think in some traditions that a little sweetness goes well with bratwurst as well as bacon.

So digging through my freezer, and using the shell pasta, this is the dish I came up with, Triple B meal. It is a bit salty and umami from the garlic scapes and brats, smoky from the bacon, herby from the basil, sweet from the butternut squash, and slightly hot from the cayenne. This dish hits every taste bud. It is really good!

2 slices of Benton's Bacon diced and sauteed

2 bratwurst diced and sauteed (Emerald Glen)

2 ice cubes of garlic scapes (Barefoot Farmer)

2 ice cubes of basil (Barefoot Farmer)

2 pinches of dry thyme (my organic garden)

1 small butternut squash diced (Barefoot Farmer)

1 lb of fresh shell pasta (Lazzaroli)

S&P

1 dried cayenne finger crushed (my organic garden)

Water (filtered from the tap)

Method

1. Saute bacon bits until nicely done.

2. Drain the fat (use in other dishes), and set bacon aside

3. In the bacon pan sautee bratwurst bits until done

4. Drain and set the brat bits aside

5. In the bacon pan heat up he garlic scapes, basil and 1 crumbled cayenne

6. Add the bacon and brat bits back into the pan

7. Add the butternut squash to the pan

8. Add water (or stock) to be just enough to cook the butternut squash and to make a brothy gravy

9. In 2nd pot, boil up the shell pasta

10. Drain the pasta and toss in the bacon, brat, butternut squash mixture.

Eat and Enjoy!