I’m not sure if I’m cheating a bit today? The whole concept behind recipe a day May is that we all try some new food and step outside of our comfort zones a little. I’ve made caramelised squash a million times and I think you’re all aware of how much pasta has been involved in my life lately. But I’ve never had the squash with the pasta and the other bits, so maybe it’s half cheating? You can decide.
Either way, people complain a lot that butternut squash either takes too long to cook, or they don’t know what to do with it. Roasting it does take a long time, and I can see how you could run low on ideas, but this way is so quick. Because the squash is so small, it only takes around 15 minutes to cook meaning this dish is a really great one for midweek dinners when you want something quick.
Of course, I served mine with lentil (and pea) pasta, but you could make this with regular whole wheat if you’d prefer.
Nutritional Information
Butternut squash is so good for you! Just 100g provides you with over a third of your daily recommended vitamin C and has over double the amount of vitamin A. As well as 2g fibre per 100g. I’ve done a lot of spinach recipes so far this year, so in brief, the 10g per serving in this recipe will provide you with nearly 20% RDA for vitamin A and 60% of your RDA of vitamin K. If, like me, you opt for lentil or pea pasta, they each provide around 20g protein per serving.
Caramelised Squash Pasta Recipe
This recipe is dairy free, gluten free, soy free, nut free and vegan.
Caramelised Squash Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
- ½ butternut squash chopped into 1cm squares
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- Pinch chilli flakes
- Enough pasta for 4 people
- Approx 40g spinach
- Green olives to taste
- 160 g dried pasta
Instructions
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Heat one tbsp olive oil in a large heavy based pan on a low-medium heat, then add the chopped butternut squash. Cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes.
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Add the red onion, maple syrup, chilli flakes and apple cider vinegar and cook for a further 10-12 minutes with the lid on.
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Meanwhile, cook your pasta. Cooking times will vary depending on the type of pasta, but aim to have it ready 2 minutes after the squash. Drain and set aside when ready.
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When the squash mixture becomes jammy, use a fork to lightly mash the squash. Then add the pasta, olives and spinach to the squash mixture. Stir on a low heat for 1-2 minutes to combine.
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Stir in the final ½ tbsp oil before serving.
Serve and enjoy!
This recipe is a great way to add some extra vegetables to a midweek pasta dish and doesn’t add much time either. Can you see yourself trying this when you need a quick dinner?
Until next time,
Sophie
OMG this looks so delicious! Caramelizing always add such a nice taste to food! and i love squash so much! i need to try this recipe out!
I love any new pasta recipe and was so excited to see this and try something new! Then I remembered I’m allergic to butternut squash so I think when I try this, I’m going to have to leave out the squash! I love your blog and trying out new recipes.
This looks great! Pasta is one of my favourite dishes. I don’t mind if it’s a bit plain OR if it’s full of flavour. Just give me pasta! I’d love to try this!
Jenny
http://www.jennyinneverland.com
This looks amazing!! Definitely need to make this and give it a try, it’ll be perfect for the summer time! xx
Em // http://www.emilybecca.com
Ooh! I’ve actually just had something quite similar for my dinner tonight and it was divine. I’ll definitely have to give your one a go! It looks delicious.
Oh yum, this looks so tasty and looks so quick to make too! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Hope that your week is off to a good start! I just posted my weekday wear linkup, I’d love you to join! 🙂
http://awayfromtheblue.blogspot.com
I love butternut squash (and pasta), but I’ve never had it caramelised, which is crazy because it sounds so good! I wonder if this recipe could be done with acorn squash because I have one that needs to be eaten, I feel like it would so I’m going to try it out. 🙂
I have butternut squash every so often, I have made a few curries with it before and also a butternut squash risotto which was quite nice! I feel like when I use it though I need to make sure there’s a good amount of flavour added to it, as sometimes it can be a bit bland. I like the sound of this recipe though, I’m a fan of pasta, and I actually can’t believe I’ve not thought about putting squash and pasta together before!
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com