Baked Butternut Squash Pasta

 

Fall is the season of colors and marks the beginning of the Holiday season. I absolutely love the fall colors and what better way to celebrate the season than to bring out the beautiful colors on a plate. This baked Butternut squash pasta with sautéed vegetables is my humble effort to celebrate the colors of the season. This bright and beautiful dish has smooth and creamy texture that complements the lightly sautéed and crunchy fall color veggies. This pasta dish is a complete meal and a delightful surprise for your friends and family this holiday season! 

This pasta is prepared with my favorite butternut squash that is so versatile that I prepare a different dish with it every time I bring it home. I have prepared soups, crisps, desserts and sometime I just add the chunks to my quinoa or rice dish. This time I have prepared pasta sauce with it. The sauce can be used to prepare not only this delicious baked pasta recipe but can also be used to prepare lasagna. Either way it will please your taste buds and will be loved by all. I have also added a surprise element in this pasta by sneaking in some fresh and juicy pineapple chunks in the sauce. The sweet pineapple brings out the best flavor of this fall favorite pasta. 

The Baked butternut squash pasta dish is vegetarian and egg-free. You can easily turn it into vegan dish by adding some vegan cheese or nutritional yeast. 

So let's get started...

Important notes/ tips

• Butternut squash is very hard to slice through, so please use sharp knife that is big enough for the size of the squash. Refer to the recipe video to see the cutting process. 
• I have used an entire medium size butternut squash for this recipe, you can adjust the quantity depending on the size of the squash. 
• It is recommended to use fresh pineapple chunks but canned chunks can also be used. 
• I have topped this pasta with some vegetarian parmesan cheese. But you can easily make this dish vegan by either skipping the parm cheese or topping the pasta with some nutritional yeast. 
• Turn this dish to gluten free by replacing the regular penne pasta with gluten free pasta of your choice. 
• I have used penne pasta for the recipe but you can use any other cylindrical shaped pasta. This would allow the creamy sauce to get inside the pasta and give an oozing result bursting with the sauce. 

Baked Butternut Squash Pasta

Prepare time - 15 minutes

Cook time - 1 hour 15 minutes

Serves - 4 to 6 

Ingredients 

2 Cup dry/uncooked Penne pasta 

1 Medium Butternut squash

1 Large carrot

1 Cup fresh Pineapple chunks

1/2 Medium white onion

3-4 Garlic cloves

1/3 Cup Parmesan cheese 

1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs 

2 Tbsp Vegenaise (optional)

2 Cup Water 

3 Tbsp Olive oil

1 Tbsp Dried oregano

1 Tbsp Dried thyme

1/2 Tbsp Black pepper powder

Salt to taste 

Water to  cook pasta 

Instructions

Preheat oven at 425F. Cut the head of the Butternut squash and then slice the squash in circular motion into half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. 

Line a baking tray with silicone mat or foil and place the butternut squash halves on it. Brush olive oil on the inner side of the squash, sprinkle the dry herbs and spices on the halves. Turn the squash and brush oil on the outer side of the squash. Place the squash halves into the oven keeping the squash halves facing down. Bake for 45 minutes. 

While squash is baking, prepare the pasta. Add dry pasta in IP and add water, oil and salt. Cook pasta in IP for 1 minute at high pressure. 

In the meanwhile, peel and dice carrot. Roughly chop onion and garlic. 

When pasta is done, quick release the pressure and drain the pasta. Transfer the pasta into a bowl.

In the same IP pot, add the remaining olive oil and turn on the sauté mode. When oil heats up, add roughly chopped onion and garlic and carrot. Add in the remaining herbs and spices and mix well. 

Sauté for 2-3 minutes and add water to the pot. Close the IP lid, set it to sealing. Switch IP mode to high pressure cook for 5 minutes. When cooking is done, let the pressure release naturally. 

Remove butternut squash from oven and check if it is soft and completely baked. Let it cool for 5 minutes. Carefully, remove the skin of baked butternut squash and chop it roughly in big chunks. Be careful if the squash is too hot. Hot steam can cause burns. Use knife to remove skin if needed. 

Open IP and add chopped butternut squash pieces to the pot. Combine well.

Puree the mixture using immersion blender. Blend until smooth pasta sauce is ready.  Now to make the sauce extra creamy, add in vegenaise to it and combine well. Further add pineapple chunks and mix everything well and keep aside. 

Preheat oven to 350F. 

In an oven safe tray, add cooked pasta and lay flat. Take half of the butternut squash pasta sauce and coat the penne pasta well. 

Now add a layer of the remaining pasta sauce on top of the coated pasta. Next, sprinkle parmesan cheese over the pasta and then generously sprinkle breadcrumbs on the top. 

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until you see crumbs turning golden brown. Place the pasta tray on cooling rack and let it cool down for 5 minutes before serving.

The hot and creamy Baked Butternut squash Pasta is ready to serve with sautéed vegetables.  

Wheat (Atta) Sheera with Jaggery

As we are getting closer to the Holiday season, it's time to start preparing the holiday delights for the family. I like to kickstart the holiday season with some healthy yet delicious dessert to keep our health in check. Here's one of the most favorite dessert/ meetha of my family - Wheat (Atta) Sheera during the auspicious festival of Navratri. Wheat (atta) sheera is a famous dessert or side in Western and North India. I have prepared this decadent dessert numerous times before and it has been loved by one and all. The Gujarati style wheat (atta) Sheera is one of the easiest dessert to prepare.  

This Sheera is made with just 7 simple ingredients that are easily available in Indian household. You just need whole wheat flour, jaggery, homemade ghee, milk, cardamom pods/powder, nuts and few saffron strands. While saffron strands are optional in the recipe but they give a distinct flavor and color to the Sheera. 

Traditionally, sugar is added to this Sheera as sweetener but to avoid decking up on all the unhealthy calories, I have prepared it by using jaggery instead. Though jaggery and sugar provide almost the same amount of calories, jaggery is considered more nutritious than refined sugar. In fact according some sources, jaggery benefits our bodies in numerous ways.

I have also used milk in preparing the Sheera instead of water to make it richer  and creamier in taste. Adding milk is optional but I have always added milk to it and I absolutely love the texture and the taste of the Sheera that is prepared using milk vs water. 

So without further ado, let's look at some important notes and then the recipe. 

Important Notes/ Tips

• It is important to use thick bottom kadhai/pan to prepare the Sheera, it will help avoid burning of ghee and wheat flour (atta).
• It is important to roast the wheat flour (atta) correctly. Do not over roast wheat flour, else it will get burnt and under roasting will give a raw taste.
• Jaggery need to be shaved or powdered in order for it to melt quickly when mixed with wheat flour (atta) and ghee. Adjust the quantity of jaggery as per your liking. 
• I have used ghee prepared at home for the recipe, you can always use store bought ghee. Here is my recipe for Homemade ghee if you like to see it. You can add little more ghee if you like but do not reduce ghee quantity else the Sheera will turn sticky.
• I have added milk to prepare Sheera, however you can use water instead, in the equal quantity, if you like to keep this recipe vegan. Also, know that adding water will give darker color to Sheera. 
• Be sure to use room temperature or lukewarm milk for the recipe. Cold milk will act against the hot kadhai/ pan and the Sheera mixture. 
• You can store the Sheera in a container in the fridge for up to a week. Always warm it up before serving.

Wheat (Atta) Sheera with Jaggery

Prepare time - 5 minutes

Cook time - 20 minutes

Yields - 2 1/2 Cup Sheera

Ingredients

1 Cup Wheat flour (Atta)

3/4 Cup Melted ghee

3/4 Cup Shaved/powdered jaggery (adjust the quantity per your liking of sweetness)  

1 1/2 Cup Milk 

2-3 Pods of Cardamom (Elaichi) / 1 Tsp cardamom powder

Handful of cashew halves, silvered almonds and raisins

Few strands of saffron (optional)

Instructions

Heat up a kadhai/ pan on a medium flame. Add homemade ghee to the kadhai and heat it up for 1 minute. While ghee is heating up, take saffron strands in a small bowl and add a tablespoon of milk. Let it soak. 

Now add wheat flour (atta) to the heated ghee and combine it well. Keep stirring the mixture continuously with spatula or spoon to avoid any lumps in the mixture. 

Roast the mixture for about 5 minutes until it becomes aromatic and the wheat flour (atta) changes color. Be careful of wheat flour getting burnt at the bottom if roasted for too long. 

Now turn the flame to low and let the mixture simmer for about 2 minutes until you see the ghee starts separating from wheat flour (atta) mixture.

Further add shaved/powdered jaggery and 1 1/4 cup milk (at room temperature) to the mixture. Give it a quick mix to ensure the milk doesn't burn at the bottom of the kadhai/ pan. Then add the soaked saffron to the kadhai/ pan. Combine everything well. 

Turn up the heat to medium and keep stirring the Sheera mixture to avoid any burning or sticking at the bottom of kadhai/ pan. After couple minutes milk will be completely absorbed in the Sheera mixture. 

Now pop the cardamom (Elaichi) pods and add them to the Sheera. Let the Sheera mixture cook for couple more minutes to ensure jaggery is completely melted and mixed up well with the rest of the mixture. 

Next add the remaining 1/4 cup milk to the mixture and combine well. This will allow the Sheera to loosen up. 

Finally add the nuts and raisins to the Sheera and mix it well. Cook the Sheera for another 3-5 minutes. At this point, turn off the flame and transfer the Sheera to a bowl and garnish with some more nuts. Our scrumptious and healthy Wheat (Atta) Sheera with Jaggery is ready to relish! Serve this Sheera hot or store it in a container in the fridge for up to a week.