Butternut Linguine with Crispy Sage

I’m sticking to my (mostly) vegan diet, and also trying to incorporate dietary restrictions due to a somewhat recent rosacea diagnosis. I’m still trying to figure out what my food triggers (things that make my face flush/make my rosacea worse) are, but I’ve heard that tomatoes are one food that can make rosacea worse, and I’ve had mixed results when I’ve eaten tomato products. It’s a tricky disease to figure out.

Anywho, I’ve been avoiding most tomato products for some time, which means no pasta with red sauce (one of my favorite things!). I stumbled upon this pasta recipe a few days ago while searching for ways to use up the butternut squashes sitting on my counter. While it’s definitely different than a tomato-based sauce, it’s still delicious. And, now I want to put crispy sage ON EVERYTHING. So. Good.

 

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 to 4 tbsp chopped fresh sage
• 2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Sea salt and/or kosher salt
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 12 ounces whole grain linguine
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the sage and toss it around in the skillet so it’s coated with oil. Crisp it up, then remove from the pan and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. Set aside for later.
2. Add the squash, onion and garlic to the skillet. Season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the broth, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is nice and soft, 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions, until it’s al dente. Drain the pasta.
5. Once the squash mixture is done cooking, remove it from the heat and let cool a bit. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Keep the skillet handy because you’ll be using it in just a bit.
6. Combine the pasta, squash purée, and ¼ cup water in the skillet and toss until the pasta is coated, adding more water as needed. You could also use almond milk for a creamier, nuttier pasta sauce.
7. Top the pasta with the crispy sage before serving.

I can’t do spicy foods anymore, but if you want a bit more flavor feel free to add black pepper, cayenne, or whatever other spices suit your fancy.

This recipe makes A LOT of pasta. The original recipe says it yields four large servings but you could easily get six servings out of this (or more if you add a side like a nice spinach salad).

Source: Adapted from Cookie and Kate