Spicy Roasted Garlic & Butternut Squash Pasta
— GFO — DFO — V — VG —
Celebrating the winter vegetable that is still keeping in storage: the butternut squash! This slightly sweet vegetable creates a creamy sauce in your pasta night rotation. A comforting dish designed to warm you with the combination of the spice and the nutty richness from this velvety sauce. This recipe is made vegan by using nut milks, which adds a lovely dimension to the dish. Topped with crispy kale and shallots, also other winter vegetables you may have on hand.
INGREDIENTS
Squash
1 tsp avocado oil
½ medium sized butternut squash
salt & pepper
2 garlic cloves, peeled & whole
Sauce
¼ cup raw cashews
2 garlic cloves, peeled & whole
¼-½ tsp red pepper flakes (depending on your spice level)
½ tsp salt
¾ cup nut milk (I used ½ cup almond with ¼ cup coconut)
Crispy Kale & Shallots
4-5 kale stems
½ cup onion or shallot
1 tsp of oil
salt, to taste
Pasta
10 oz gluten-free pasta (I used Rummo’s GF Rigatoni)
INSTRUCTIONS
(1) Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut squash lengthwise, scoop out seeds, rub avocado oil on one half. Season with salt and pepper. Place flesh side down over top the two peeled whole garlic cloves on sheet. Bake for 30-40min until soft and skin blistered. Leave the other 1/2 of squash for another time, or you could double this recipe and save the extra sauce in the freezer for another time.
(2) Soak 1/4 of raw cashews for 30min in hot water.
(3) Put a pot of salted water on to boil for your pasta near the end of the 30min. Use packaged instructions for timing. When pasta is done, strain and put back into the pot with a bit of olive oil to keep from sticking and put lid on to keep warm.
(4) Once butternut squash is done, take out to cool a bit. On the pan put sliced shallot (or onion), torn pieces of kale and toss in some avocado or olive oil. Sprinkle some salt. Set oven to 350F and put back in for 7-10min, until crispy. Keep an eye on.
(5) In a blender, put peeled butternut squash (about two cups), drained soaked cashews, 2 garlic cloves, 2 roasted garlic cloves, salt and milks. Blend all together. Taste for seasoning. You can also set aside some chunks of butternut squash if you would like to add that to your pasta dish.
(6) Put creamy sauce over pasta. Sprinkle crispy kale and shallots on top, as well as some more red pepper flakes. If you are not DF, a bit of feta or warmed ricotta is a nice addition. Enjoy!
Adapted from Minimalist Baker’s recipe.