Caramelized Butternut Squash Wedges with a Sage Hazelnut Pesto

This recipe is from Food 52.   It is featured as a fall recipe in The Food 52 Cookbook, Volume 2 Seasonal Recipes cookbook, as well as on the site.  A friend works for and contributes to this company, and I think it's so interesting. 

I have had a butternut squash on my counter for months.  I wish I had seen this recipe sooner, as I would have been making it all fall/early winter.  It is delicious!  One of the comments in the cookbook states: "Without any hyperbole, I must say this is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten." 

The recipe says to roast the squash for about 30 minutes total, but mine was in the (very hot) oven for almost double that.  It just seemed to take a long time to caramelize.  I also only used one squash all on one pan, and am not sure how long it would have taken with two squash in there.  I used about 1/2 tsp of cayenne also, so it had some subtle kick.

The pesto itself is quite easy to make.  Next time, I'll chop my sage a little more finely and "cook" it in the oil slightly longer than suggested.  I used the last of the hazelnuts from my trip to Portland with S.  Also, Whole Foods claims they are not currently importing ricotta salata, so I used Greek Myzithra cheese instead and it worked well.  I would make this pesto again to try over butternut squash ravioli.