Squash Puree with Sage Brown Butter

1 pound roasted squash puree, about 2 cups
1/4 cup unsalted butter
whole fresh sage leaves, about 2 to 3 packed tablespoons
2 cloves garlic, smashed
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over very low heat. Add the whole sage leaves and the garlic and cook slowly until the butter solids have browned. Fish out the garlic and use it for something else. Fish out the now fried sage leaves and set aside to cool, then chop them. Add the squash puree to the skillet (careful not to splash hot butter), and stir to combine with the butter and heat through. Stir in the chopped sage and season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes 2 very generous or 3 reasonable servings.

To roast the squash, preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds and strings. Place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for an hour or until tender. Let the squash cool cut side down on the baking sheet, it should collapse a bit as it cools. Scoop out the flesh and puree it by either running it through the finest disk of a food mill or forcing it through a fine sieve with a wooden pestle. If I know that I'm making something savory with the squash puree I like to put whole unpeeled cloves of garlic under the cavity when I bake the squash and then use the garlic in whatever I'm making.