Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 700 g butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2 to 2 cm pieces (1 small pumpkin or half a large pumpkin)
- 1 teaspoon ras el hanout
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (decrease to 1/8 teaspoon if you prefer it less spicy)
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 1/5 cups vegetable broth (375 ml)
- 350 g dried pasta (or more)
To garnish:
- Freshly grated parmesan or vegan/vegetarian alternative
Instructions
- In a a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the onion, garlic, squash and season with ras el hanout, red-pepper flakes and salt. Cook, stirring every minute, until onion is tender and squash becomes lightly browned in spots and starts to tender around the edges, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the squash is soft and some of the liquid reduces, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
- Once the squash mixture is done cooking, use an immersion blender to blend the butternut squash mixture until it's completely smooth and creamy. If your sauce is too thick, you can add some of the pasta cooking water. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pureed squash and toss well to coat. Adding more pasta cooking water, if needed. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.
- Serve the pasta in individual bowls topped with freshly grated parmesan, if desired.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
- This creamy butternut squash pasta recipe is also great with a little spinach of Italian kale.
- For this recipe, I recommend Ral El Hanout from Lebensbaum (unpaid mention!).
- For VEGANS: I like to use nutritional yeast as an alternative to parmesan, but there are also various vegan parmesan cheese substitutes. Otherwise, make your own like I did in this vegan bolognese recipe.