Pasta Sauce 2009

Outstanding Pasta Sauce 2009: Dave’s Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Dave Hirschkop is known for turning up the heat with his Insanity Sauce. (It was created more than 13 years ago as a means to get lingering loud drunks out of a restaurant he owned. One taste and inebriated patrons either left, or got very quiet.) But now the owner and founder of Dave’s Gourmet, Inc., has added a mellower product to his line of 70 specialty foods.

Dave’s Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce joins four others in the company’s premium pasta sauce line, which includes Wild Mushroom, Organic Spicy Heirloom Marinara, Organic Roasted Garlic and Sweet Basil and Organic Red Heirloom. Two years in the making, Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce was a challenge from the start. “It is hard to make something shelf stable and tasty. We also worked hard to get the color where we wanted it,” says Dave.

The sauce is made with ripe butternut squash from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, which has a short growing season, making the product vulnerable to limited quantities. Fresh garlic, onions and roasted red pepper are added, giving it a natural sweetness that offers a change of pace from ordinary pasta sauces.

The smoky orange color with tiny flecks of red pepper commands attention as does the unique flavor profile. The sauce also makes an excellent soup base. Because of its delicate flavor profile and thicker texture, Dave suggests pairing it with stuffed pastas such as tortellini. Suggested retail price: $6.99/25.5-ounce. davesgourmet.com.–N. Denis