Thursday is my favourite day of the week because I can look forward to a home cooked meal with lovely company. Leung and I will both cook up something seasonal and yummy to bring to her-best-friend-since-preK’s place to enjoy together and chat about life. They are called “Thursday Veggie Nights” as a way for us to feed the non-veggie-eating friend more veg in her week (what great friends we are eh winkwink)!
Since this week’s Thursday Night Veg Supper was a no-go because of schedule conflicts (the apartment host is a social butterfly), Leung and I got together ourselves and made an epic barbecue vegan sandwich for each of us, finishing the night off with the-best-chocolate-chunk-walnut-cookie-I’ve-ever-eaten-in-my-life (Leung is going to share with you all very soon)! I am so excited for that recipe because honestly dough (hahaha)… it is literally the best cookie on the planet.
I was going to make a cheezy broccoli casserole before the supper was cancelled, and since I’ve already stocked up on butternut squash in my fridge that was supposed to be a component of the cheese sauce, Leung and I decided to use it to share one of our favourite fool-proof savoury dishes.
One of my best friends Pamela really wanted to make this in her new college apartment kitchen too, so here’s the recipe! This is already incredibly flavourful with all the herbs, garlic, and onion, but you can add in 1-2 tbsp of tomato paste to elevate the flavours even more! Definitely one of my all time favourite pasta dishes because it’s so filling, simple, affordable, and so dang good!
Try this next time you or your kids want to open a box of Annie’s Mac n’ Cheese because you’re going to feel so much better eating this version (and you’re sneaking in loads of vitamin A and B complex vitamins), I promise!
*estimates given in Canadian Dollars
1 cup butternut squash = $1.00
1 tsp coconut oil = $0.09
1 onion = $0.30
2 cloves garlic = $0.14
1 tbsp fresh herbs = $0.25
1 1/2 cup dry pasta = $0.70
1/2 cup frozen peas = $0.25
Price Per Batch = $2.73
Price Per Serving (1/2 batch) = $1.36
- 1 cup cubed butternut squash
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs, we chose a mix of rosemary and sage
- 1½ cup dry short pasta, gluten free if needed (we used brown rice pasta)
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ⅓ cup reserved pasta water
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 350F and arrange cubed butternut squash onto a baking try. Spray with oil of choice and bake for 35 minutes, or until soft and cooked through. Set aside cooked squash.
- Heat the 1 tsp of coconut oil in a frying pan. Saute onion, garlic, and herbs over medium-low heat until golden brown and very fragrant.
- While onion mixture is browning, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Place frozen peas in the strainer you plan to use to drain the pasta; the hot water and pasta will defrost and heat the peas through. Once the pasta is done, drain the pasta but reserve about ⅓ cup of the cooking water.
- In a small food processor, blend the cooked squash, onion mixture, and the reserved pasta water until smooth. Toss cooked pasta and peas in sauce and serve immediately topped with freshly ground pepper.
Leave a Reply