I love eating in season and when it’s fall, I simply cannot get enough butternut squash. If you read Dealectica (oh, and you should!), you probably saw my recipe for Butternut Squash Fries Two Ways last week. And then there was my Roasted Butternut Squash Panini. Yes, I have a bit of thing for butternut squash.
Last week, I decided to try to make butternut squash into a creamy pasta sauce. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it did and it was fabulous! To add a little more excitement, I made crispy discs of Parmesan cheese to serve with the pasta. Although this sounds like it would be really fattening, each circle is made with only two tablespoons of cheese and no oil at all. My husband hates Parmesan and even he liked these!
A perfect recipe for fall--roasted butternut squash and red peppers combine to make a creamy sauce for pasta and cauliflower florets.
Ingredients
- cooking spray or oil from mister (I use olive oil in a mister)
- 1 large cauliflower, cut into medium florets
- 1 large butternut squash (the one I used was 2 1/2 lbs.), cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 large red pepper, sliced into 1-inch strips
- salt and fresh black pepper to taste
- 3/4 c. vegetable broth
- 8 oz. whole wheat penne, cooked
- 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Spray two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray. Put cauliflower on one and squash and pepper on the other. Coat vegetables with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, stir, and roast for an additional 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and cool slightly.
- Put 1/2 cup of broth, squash and pepper pieces in a food processor process until smooth. If sauce is too thick, add remaining broth.
- In a large bowl, combine sauce, cooked penne, and cauliflower; stir until well-coated.
- To make Crispy Parmesan Circles, heat a small non-stick pan to medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp. of Parmesan in a circle at the center of the pan. Flip when the bottom turns golden, about 2-3 minutes. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes and place on paper towel to cool. Repeat with remaining 6 tbsp. of cheese until you have 4 circles.
YUM! I love butternut squash. Will definitely be making this in the near future.
This sounds really really good!
That looks absolutely wonderful!!!
Looks wonderful! I recently started trying whole wheat pasta again and am sold. I think a few years ago when I cooked it the whole wheat was just to al dente for our tastes. Now I’ve tried penne and spaghetti and love it! The crispy cheese addition is beautiful!
You know, a lot of people really dislike whole wheat pasta, but I’ve always liked it. I like the heartier texture. I do think they’ve perfected the process in how they make it, though, and it’s definitely more like regular pasta now.
This sounds so good!!
This looks so good! So far I’ve only had butternut squash mashed – yay for variety!
I don’t think I’ve ever had it mashed? I should try that!
Sounds yummy!
I’ve never had butternut squash before. Sounds yummy.