Butternut Squash, Two Ways

When all of the autumn squashes made their annual appearance at the grocery store a few weeks ago, I did a happy dance and stocked up on not only the fresh gourds, but also frozen butternut squash and canned pumpkin. I posted this recipe for butternut squash soup back in the day, and I still like to make it but my palate has definitely evolved over the last few years and I've made some major adjustments accordingly.

Indian Inspired Vegetarian Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 lg butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 sm head of cauliflower, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder (no fresh in my house, remember? induces migraines)
1 tsp. cumin (so I may have put more in than just 1 tsp... I really like cumin!)
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
6 cups of vegetable stock (vegetarian, remember? so no chicken stock this time)
1 cup of red potato, diced in bite-size pieces
1 (15 ounce) can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spread the butternut squash and cauliflower on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Roast at 425 degrees for 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is softened and slightly caramelized around the edges and the cauliflower starts to brown.

Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, saute the onions in olive oil until slightly softened. Stir in the roasted butternut squash, cauliflower, and all spices. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the spices become very fragrant. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil before adding the potatoes. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Add in the chick peas and apple cider vinegar and let the soup simmer gently for another 5-7 minutes while you reach for the immersion blender. Buzz the soup until it reaches your desired texture and consistency; I like to still have some discernible vegs floating in the now creamy soup base. Finish with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream for that extra bit of creaminess and tang.

Enjoy!

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So, originally I made this second dish for a Welcome-to-Fall feast at work the other night. The ER doc and all the techs made food to share, and my contribution was this baked pasta inspired by the soup I had made the previous week. Since I had some soup leftover in the freezer, I thought about buzzing it until it was completely smooth and tossing it with pasta before baking the whole thing. But. The more I thought about it, the more tweaks I made to the recipe in my head before deciding to start from scratch. I actually made 2 versions of this dish for work, a vegetarian one AND a vegan one so that all of the techs I work with could enjoy it.

Veg(etari)an Butternut Squash Pasta Bake

individual size casserole

Ingredients:
1 lg butternut squash, peeled and diced (I cheated and used a bag of pre-diced, straight from the freezer)
1 medium onion, diced (I happened to have some Vidalia onion in the freezer, already diced)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste
4 oz. goat cheese (although I suppose cream cheese would work) *omit for vegan recipe*
1/2 cup milk (I use soy or almond milk... hello? lactose intolerant here) *non-dairy milk for vegan recipe*
1 pound of pasta (any short-cut pasta will do: penne, rigatoni, ziti)
1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup bread crumbs (soft or Panko, dealer's choice)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Over medium-low heat, saute the onions, butternut squash, and all spices in olive oil until soft and the squash practically falls apart. Stir in the milk and goat cheese (omit the cheese and use non-dairy milk to keep it vegan), cover, and turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, in a separate pot of heavily salted boiling water, cook the pasta just shy of al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid before draining the pasta and tossing it with the butternut squash mixture. Add in the pasta water to loosen the sauce and dump everything into a casserole dish. Top with the chopped walnuts and/or bread crumbs along with another sprinkle of whatever herbs float your boat and bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Enjoy!

This dish was such a hit that there were no leftovers for me to take home so I ended up making the single-size mini casserole for my dinner tonight. I added in some leftover diced chicken breast (I only eat vegetarian about 75% of the time) and the scaled down recipe was just as tasty as the original.