RECIPE: Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
I made the most thick and deliciously creamy vegetarian pasta sauce today. It really hit the spot after a long day at work. Sometimes you’ve just got to share these things, even if they do begin as just using up what is in the fridge. Which, as you all know, is where most of my recipes come from.
This is a vegetarian and gluten free recipe (if you use vegetarian pasta) and you can easily make it vegan friendly by omitting the cheese and Greek yogurt and replacing with an alternative, like an almond or rice based yoghurt – it’s not necessary though, the recipe would work well without it, it just adds a bit of decadence.
As ever feel free to mess about with the quantities and the ingredients to suit, the squash is the only key ingredient to making this work and you can add other flavourings to taste. It’s all about the simple, easy to follow recipes!
This is a vegetarian and gluten free recipe (if you use vegetarian pasta) and you can easily make it vegan friendly by omitting the cheese and Greek yogurt and replacing with an alternative, like an almond or rice based yoghurt – it’s not necessary though, the recipe would work well without it, it just adds a bit of decadence.
As ever feel free to mess about with the quantities and the ingredients to suit, the squash is the only key ingredient to making this work and you can add other flavourings to taste. It’s all about the simple, easy to follow recipes!
Roasted Squash Pasta Sauce
Serves 4
1 butternut squash, seeds removed and cut into 2 inch chunks
1 courgette, cut into 2 inch chunks
4 garlic cloves
Splash of olive oil
Stock cube or seasonings to suit
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 small tub Greek yogurt
Wodge of Morbier cheese (I used about 100g)
salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Stick your prepared veg onto a baking tray with salt and pepper, a splash of olive oil and mixed seasoning of your choice (or crumbled stock cube if it’s easier).
- Don’t bother to skin the butternut squash, it’s loads of pointless hassle. Don’t bother to peel the garlic either, just throw it in. You can squeeze it out of the skins easily when it’s cooked and the sweet garlic flavour is just superb in this dish.
- Put into a pre-heated oven at 220’C for about 40 minutes or until soft and golden. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- When the veg is cooked, put your pasta on to cook. We used conchiglie which is perfect for this thick, unctious sauce as it captures loads inside.
- While it is cooking, squeeze the garlic from its skin, add the Greek yogurt, paprika and chilli to your vegetables and add a dash of water to slacken. I used a bit of the pasta cooking water.
- Use a hand blender to blend it all together. Give it a bit extra blitzing to be sure you’ve got all of the squash skin. Use plain water to make it as thick or as slack as you prefer. I like mine thick!
- Add chunks of cheese and stir in. We used Morbier because it is wonderfully soft and stringy and the sliver of blue adds a beautiful savoury note which counterbalances the sweetness of the squash perfectly. Check your seasoning and adjust to your taste. This is the perfect point to add any fresh herbs you might like. We threw in a bit of oregano from the garden.
- Drain your pasta well and stir in the sauce over a low heat until the pasta is fully coated.
Lush. And super simple.
