YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Pasta, Pignola, and Butternut Squash

One of my favorite things is a one-pot meal, placed right in the middle of the table. This gorgeous dish, with its range of deep colors, is good enough for company, but don’t feel the need to wait for such an occasion. It also makes a wonderful dinner for two, or three, or four. If you need to get organized, you can roast the squash and toast the pine nuts one day prior, like I did.

  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • 1 small sweet onion, peeled and diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1 t. pepper
  • 1/2 c. fresh leaves of sage
  • 1 lb. whole-grain farfalle (bowties) pasta
  • 3/4 c. pine (pignola) nuts, toasted
  • 1 cup Parmesan, in shavings OR 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes

Heat oven to 375. Peel squash, cut in half the long way, and scoop out seeds and strings. Cube into 1-inch cubes. Toss with onion, garlic, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper. Mince half the sage leaves and add to squash mixture.

Spread squash mixture on baking sheet in thin layer and roast 35-45 min until squash is fork-soft. Meanwhile, prepare farfalle pasta according to directions, drain, and set aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in large high-sided saute pan. Add remaining sage and fry 1 min until starting to shrivel. Remove with slotted spoon, salt lightly, and crush with back of a spoon.

To compile the dish, add the cooked pasta and squash mixture to the pan. Crumble in half the sage. Cook 5 min, stirring frequently, until pasta is heated through and getting crispy on the edges. Add pine nuts and cook 1-2 min more. Stir in the cheese or nutritional yeast. Empty into serving bowl, and sprinkle with remaining crispy sage.

If you don’t have a big saute pan, you can prepare the final step in 2 equal batches. Serves 4.

 

The original version of this recipe comes from the kitchn.com. Thanks!

 

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