Not-So-Butternut Squash Pasta

Ok, so we have a page for our favorite recipes, but we also needed a place to post some of our own creations!

A couple of weeks ago a photo popped up on my Instagram feed from @forksoverknives. It was a photo of this creamy, delicious-looking butternut squash pasta from The Yummy Plant. I knew I just HAD to make it. I wrote all the ingredients down on our weekly grocery list. The strangest ingredient was nutritional yeast, which we had already seen in one of the grocery stores in town. So I didn't think we'd have any trouble putting the dish together.

We set out to gather what we needed. After visiting multiple grocery stores and local street vendors, we found zero butternut squash. I was determined...I thought to myself, "what might have a similar texture and color?" I knew I wanted to try red bell peppers and fire-roast them for more flavor. I also grabbed some potatoes for a bit more depth(???). That may/may not be the appropriate term, but I'm not a professional. It works for me.

Alas, the preparation began. Step 1: ready the ingredients...i.e. open the box of nutritional yeast. *Oops! I dropped a few flakes. Wait? Where'd they go? They're not on the floor...* Step 2: when the flakes-in-question fly back at you, you know something is wrong. *Ahhhh! There are tiny MOTHS in this box!* *Releases half a dozen moths outside and throws entire box in the garbage* Step 3: be sad for about 30 seconds, then decide to make the dish without the damn stuff...

In the end, the recipe I put together tasted delicious! The sauce turned out to be the PERFECT color, texture, and flavor. The only thing I wish I had done was swap out the parsley for basil as the garnish. We always forget that neither one of us really likes the flavor of fresh parsley (it's a bit too grassy..). But overall, it was winning failure #1 here in our Moroccan kitchen!

As for the recipe, my dear friend Nicolle is going to get a kick out of it ;) I'll be honest - when this recipe fell apart, I didn't bother to measure anything. I was just trying to use the ingredients I bought before they went bad...so, my recipe is written in the way I made it...or the way I remember making it.

Not-So-Butternut-Squash Pasta

Recipe adapted from The Yummy Plant

Ingredients:

An appropriate amount of whatever pasta you like (I ended up using 3/4 of a box, had leftover sauce, then cooked the rest of the box)

3 Red Bell Peppers

4-6 small/medium-ish potatoes - I used red-skinned potatoes. I also think I cooked six, ate two, and used the remaining four in the dish :)

1/3 cup dairy-free milk

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper, to taste

Chopped basil, for garnish

1.) Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve a little bit of the pasta water on the side, in case the pasta gets a little sticky waiting for the sauce.

2.) Wash the potatoes and cook them in boiling water until they can easily be pierced with a fork. You can chop them into quarters if you want them to cook faster.

3.) Wash and roast the peppers (this is my favorite part). I put the peppers about 8 inches from the broiler and broiled them on high for about 20-25 minutes, turning them 1/4 of a turn approximately every 3-4 minutes. The peppers should be blackened, and they should be pretty soft when you grab them with tongs. Immediately place them in a ziploc bag, plastic container, or underneath a glass bowl for 15 minutes to "steam" them. After 15 minutes, the skin will easily peel off and you can easily pluck out the stem and seeds.

4.) Throw the potatoes, peppers, milk, garlic, and lemon juice in a blender and mix until smooth. Add more milk, if needed, to achieve the desired texture of your sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to your liking.

5.) Add the sauce to your pasta, garnish with some chopped basil (and freshly grated parmesan cheese, for a vegetarian option), and enjoy!

This was enough to make five *generous* portions (I really like pasta...). You could/should probably get more from it.