I can't even tell you how long it took me to find a butternut squash here in Nevada...
Ever since September, I've searched all the local grocery stores for SOME TYPE OF SQUASH! Every time they would tell me they don't have any all I would say was, "I'm sorry...All I heard was Bla Bla Bla I'm a dirty tramp..." (Name that movie?!)
Finally this past week I spotted a teeny tiny box full of tiny little butternuts just waiting for me at the grocery store! I've had a harsh reality this year with produce since moving to this deathly hot dessert...Pretty sure I'm gonna hide produce from California in my trunk next time I visit.
Don't tell the produce check point.
Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced, seeds removed
- 2 TB. olive oil/ coconut oil
- 1/2 sweet onion
- 3-4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 small carrots, diced
- 2 small celery sticks, diced
- 1 TB. tomato paste
- roughly 2 cups coconut milk, or other non dairy milk,
- salt, pepper, preferred spices
- freshly chopped italian herbs; basil, thyme, oregano, etc.
- 1-2 TB. melted butter/coconut olive oil
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 lb. pasta of choice
Instructions
- First thing you need to do is cook your butternut squash. You can either roast it or boil it. To boil, place diced butternut into salted boiling water, and boil until tender, roughly 15 minutes. If roasted, preheat oven to 400 degrees and add diced butternut to baking sheet. Toss with 1-2 TB. olive oil and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes or until tender.
- While the butternut cooking, grab a large pan and add oil and onion. Cook for a few minutes until onion is clear, then add diced garlic. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Next start cooking your pasta according to package directions.
- Add in carrots and celery and cover pan with a sheet of tinfoil. Toss every so often, and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are somewhat tender.
- Next add in Tomato paste and cooked butternut squash. Toss and coat, then remove from heat.
- Add ingredients to blender, along with coconut milk. Blend until creamy. You might have to add more or less liquid depending on the butternut you used, and if it's more dry or not.
- Pour sauce back into pan and turn on low heat. Add spices, such as salt, pepper, few red pepper flakes, etc. It's really versatile!
- Add in your cooked and drained pasta, toss until coated. Add in the 1-2 TB of butter/oil, and toss. (I didn't use all of the sauce that this recipe makes! I actually only used half. So make sure to watch how much sauce you actually need. Save extra sauce for leftovers or for pizza sauce!)
- Toss pasta with fresh herbs and a generous helping of fresh parmesan cheese.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
3.2.1255
My main goal in making this pasta was to please the kids, while giving them nice helping of one of my favorite vegetables! It's so creamy and orange like regular boxed mac n' cheese, so it's somewhat of an easy transition.
It's also more of a sweeter sauce, which I think appeals to a lot of kids palates...or maybe just mine. Either way I was happy to see them gobbling it up!
If anyone would like to trade produce for an abundance of rocks....You know where to contact me...