Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta

There’s so much to love about this recipe. The roasted butternut squash, onion and garlic have a lovely caramelised flavour, which is the perfect match for the creamy cashews.

• We use linguine but really any pasta will do.
• Remember to reserve some of the drained pasta water. You can add it to the sauce if it’s too thick, which adds extra starch and it makes the sauce even creamier and more flavoursome.

Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled + sliced into 1” chunks
• 1 onion, skin on + quartered
• olive oil
• salt + pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, skins on
• 160 g (7 oz) pasta, or gluten-free pasta (we use linguine)
• 150 ml (5.1 fl.oz) vegetable stock
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 small handful of fresh basil, chopped

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 425°F.
• Place the cashews into a small bowl and cover with hot water straight from the kettle. Leave to one side while you carry out the next steps.
• Place the butternut squash chunks and onion quarters on a baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.
• Next add the garlic to the tray and roast everything for another 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Then drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water for the sauce.
• Remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool slightly. Once cool enough to touch, peel and discard the skins off the onion and garlic and add both to a blender along with the butternut squash, stock, nutmeg and paprika. Then drain the cashews and add them to the blender and blend until smooth. Note: if the sauce is too thick, add a splash of the reserved pasta water.
• Combine the sauce with the pasta then taste and season to perfection with salt and pepper.
• Serve with a sprinkling of chopped basil.