Scintillating squash


Summertime calls for many things – icy cold treats, fresh fruit for breakfast, cold mint tea…all things fresh and light.  There is, however, one food very wintry in nature that I cannot resist even in summer: squash.
 ***
It may be a hearty root vegetable but there is no denying its bright, golden-orange hue belongs in my notes for summer …

This vegetarian pasta has everything you’re looking for – fresh, delicious but also healthy and filling (but I promise you can still go swimming afterwards!). A little bit like a pasta primavera – a springtime vegetable medley – this pasta has it all. I sautéed  onion, celery, carrots, garlic and butternut squash – added plenty of white wine, fresh parsley and bay leaves. I finished it off with a hint of mace, lots of freshly cracked pepper and a touch of light cream. A perfect summer treat.

summer squash pasta

serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced finely
2 bay leaves
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
3/4 kg butternut squash (any pumpkin is fine), peeled and cut into sizeable pieces
1 1/2 cups white wine (I used pinot grigio because I was drinking it!)
1 cup peas
1/4 cup light cream
pinch of mace (use nutmeg if you don’t have mace)
sea salt
freshly cracked pepper
bunch of fresh parsley
500g wholemeal pasta 

Place a large pot on medium heat – wait a few minutes then when hot add oil, onion, bay, celery, garlic and carrot – sweat for 5 minutes. Add the squash and cook, stirring every minute or so for about 10 minutes – add white wine to deglaze the pot. Cook another 5 minutes or until squash is tender. At this point, place water in a large pot to boil for pasta. Salt the water, add pasta and cook until al dente (about 11-12 minutes for wholemeal pasta). To finish the sauce, add peas and cook 2 minutes, then add cream, mace, salt and pepper to taste. Finish the sauce with fresh parsley and dried chili if desired. I also added cheese – because I simply love it! Enjoy.

12 comments:

  1. It may have a wintry profile, but you've made it into such a light and summery looking dish. Very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. How odd that I'm sitting here with my heaviest sweater on reading about a summer pasta dish and wishing I could eat it. I'm glad the sun is shining hard on the other side of the world. We, on this side, have definitely benefited by getting this recipe. It looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a bright, sunny and light dish for summer. Perfect

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yum - it looks pretty trans-seasonal actually. And a good vegetarian dish for summer, still nice and savoury though. Interesting you used wholemeal pasta - which I much prefer - but any pasta is good!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This sounds and looks lovely... I would try it with gluten free pasta. Thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great recipe. I will definitely try this. I love pumpkin too and often use it to make pumpkin risotto.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is exactly my kind of pasta dish. I also absolutely love squash. Beautiful photos.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Loving it! But what would you suggest using instead of cream for us lactose-intolerant gals? And soy is a no-no...thanks Bhavan!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the combination of butternut pumpkin, peas and wholemeal pasta - perfect for a satisfying summer dish

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for the feedback friends! You can definitely substitute different ingredients where you need to for allergies and intolerances - Rebecca, you could leave out cream altogether - there's touch a touch of it in the recipe - if you wanted more creaminess you could also puree some of the squash separately and then add it to the sauce - it will still have great flavour. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have never met a squash that I didn't like and in this pasta dish it looks as though it's wearing it's Sunday finest! Must try!! Cheers!

    ReplyDelete