Roasted Pepper & Butternut Squash Penne

Another pasta dish?? Oh, yeah!!! Welcome to the Pasta World!

You might have noticed that I make pasta dishes A LOT. You are right! I love the Italian food but mainly, I simply love pasta! I mean, who doesn’t?! It’s so easy, perfect for reheating and if you make enough of it, you can save it for lunches at work during the week or even put it in the freezer. By the way, don’t you just love those days when you can’t be bothered to cook and then you suddenly remember that you have a couple of portions in the freezer from the other day?

So, on Sunday just gone, I didn’t really know what to make, but I wanted to cook something that could last us a few days and Chris could take to work for lunch. There was plenty of vegetables in the fridge, including some left over pieces that needed to be used up. And though, I have never made this recipe before, luckily, it turned out to be epic! I am also happy I decided to take step by step photos because it means that I can now share it with you.

I love roasted vegetables and I think that if you don’t like fresh, raw vegetables, roasting them can create different flavours and textures which is often more appealing and easier to consume. The slight negative is that roasted veggies aren’t as healthy because the high heat can destroy some of the nutrients you get in raw vegetables. But hey ho, in my opinion it’s better to have them roasted than not have them at all ;-)!

I don’t own many fancy tools for cooking as our kitchen is literally the tiniest kitchen on this planet, with hardly any storage at all. There are, however, tools I couldn’t live without and one of them is my Nutribullet. I think it must be the most useful helper in my kitchen that I use on daily basis. Whether it is for making smoothies, sauces, or dips, it is simply the best!

I was so amazed by the outcome that I had to share it with you. Yes, it is a little messier than my usual recipes, but that’s ok! If you keep on top of washing up throughout the entire time, you will end up with perfectly spotless kitchen, by the time your cooking is finished. Here you go!

I N G R E D I E N T S :

• 2 red bell peppers (or use whatever peppers you have available)
• 1 small butternut squash (or 1/2 of big one) )
• large onion (I used white but you can use red too)
• 2 medium size tomatoes (I only used tomatoes because I had 2 left in the fridge that needed using up and so, feel free to skip this step)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp of balsamic glaze (optional)
• 5 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast flakes
• 2 tbsp of tahini
• 250ml of plant-based milk
• Water
• 1 pack of penne pasta (or whatever other pasta you have)

M E T H O D :

STEP 1

Preheat the oven to 190°C degrees. Chop all your vegetables (peppers, onion, butternut squash, tomatoes) into equally small sized pieces and place on a baking tray. You can cut them into whatever size you like but since I like my veggies to be cooked quickly, I usually cut them into small cubes. Add 4 whole garlic cloves to the tray, sprinkle with salt, black pepper and smoked paprika and drizzle good amount of olive oil all over (roughly 5 tbsp). Mix everything really well and place in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are nicely soft.

At this point, you can boil water for the pasta, adding salt and a spoon of oil (optional), then cook pasta following the packaging instructions. I used a whole pack of penne plus about a quarter of a bag of fusilli that I had left over.

STEP 2

When the vegetables are cooked, set a small amount aside, which you can use later for garnish. Let the whole amount cool down a little bit, before adding to your blender or a food processor. If you use a smaller blender, you might need to do this in two go’s. I used my Nutribullet and had split it in two as well.

Add tahini, nutritional yeast flakes and milk and blend until smooth. If the texture seems too thick, add a splash of pasta water.

You will have A LOT of sauce and even for a whole pack of pasta, it is way too much. At this point, you can transfer some sauce into a container suitable for freezing and save some for another time.

Drain your pasta and place them back into the pot. Then pour the sauce in and mix together well.

Garnish with left over roasted vegetables and you’re ready to serve! I also used some spinach leaves, just to add some greens:-).

Will I be making this dish again? Yes, absolutely! I wouldn’t be sharing it with you otherwise as recommending recipes that end up badly could be embarrassing. Thankfully not this one!

xLx