I found this recipe somewhere, but for the life of me I can’t remember where that was. The original recipe called for making the entire dish in a crockpot. There was something about softening the butternut squash in the microwave to peel and cube it before cooking in the crockpot. Well, I didn’t make it that way. For one thing, we don’t use our microwave that often anymore. Once I convince my husband to let me get some bamboo steamers, we won’t be using it at all. I made a few tweaks to the recipe, although I did cook the whole squash in the crockpot the day before, and I added an extra spice to come up with something light and delicious.
Butternut Squash Linguine
– 2 to 3 pound organic butternut squash
– 2 tbsp of organic coconut oil
– 1/2 a small organic onion
– 3 cloves of organic garlic
– 2 cups of organic vegetable or chicken stock
– 1 tsp organic sage
– 2 tsp of organic basil
– 1/2 tsp of sea salt
– 1/4 tsp black pepper
– cooked organic pasta of your choice
Start by cooking your butternut squash. I did this using a crockpot. I had a butternut squash and a summer squash that I needed cook, so I just tossed both into the crockpot. I added one cup of water and cooked on low for 8-10 hours. Mine went a little past the 10 hour mark.. because I fell asleep lol.. so the squash burst open with a single touch. Made it easier to scoop everything out though! Remove the pulp and seeds. Scoop out the butternut squash meat and set aside until you’re ready for it.
Cut the onions into cubes and the garlic into slices. You’ll be blending it up, so you don’t need to worry with mincing or chopping. Melt 2 tbsp of coconut oil in a pot or deep skillet. If you dislike the taste of coconut, you can always add a pinch of sea salt to the melted coconut oil. It will neutralize the coconut flavor. Saute the onions in the coconut oil. Ad the garlic and cook until fragrant.. about 30 seconds or so.
Add your butternut squash and organic stock to the onions and garlic. The original recipe calls for vegetable stock, but I was all out. I used organic chicken stock instead. The flavor was still amazing, so either type of stock works out great! Stir together until combined.
Add the organic sage, organic basil, sea salt, and black pepper (or your IC Friendly alternative). Bring to a slight boil and simmer for 10 minutes.. just to let everything mix together nicely. Now it’s time to blend it all together. I used an immersion blender. Be careful when using one! They can easily splash and the butternut sauce is HOT. You can also pour it into a blender.
For this next step you can use a refrigerated pasta, fresh pasta, or cooked pasta. I used organic gluten free noodles that I grabbed at Costco. They are absolutely delicious! Take whichever of three options you’d like and mix into the sauce. If you are using refrigerated or fresh pasta, cook 5-10 minutes or until pasta is tender. If you’re using cooked pasta, just mix it into the hot butternut sauce.
Joel wanted veggies added to the butternut squash linguine instead of something like chicken, so I added roasted broccoli and mushrooms to out dishes. We had some tomatoes to use up, so Joel also had some fresh tomatoes chopped up and mixed in with his serving. I am having an incredibly rough time with my IC, so I didn’t want to worry about any cross-contamination with the tomatoes. I used a separate bowl to mix Joel’s portion. The taste was light and had a slight spicy sweetness.
This butternut squash linguine was very filling! We even got Eowyn to eat some of it, but then again, she did think the sauce was cheese lol. Ignore the ‘maters in the final photos ICers :).
The added vegetables went nicely with it, and we can add chicken to the leftovers for another meal this week :). Next time we’ll have to try adding asparagus and shrimp!
happiness grows.. 