Butternut Squash & Black Bean Spaghetti
Recipe
Pasta, pasta, pasta!! The best thing about being vegan is that I can eat as much pasta as I want. And, trust me, I do economise on that fact! Saying that, if possible, I try to stay away from pasta with a lot of gluten (not that I’m intolerant but I can see the difference after gluten-overload) as nowadays you can easily find a whole range of different types of gluten-free pasta. I like to experiment with unusual kinds, not just for their taste but also for the visual effect. I just love the look of black pasta dipped in an orange sauce. It’s so simple to make but nothing ordinary.
Equipment: blender, roasting tray
Soaking time: 2h
Cooking time: 30 min
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients
- 200g Black bean spaghetti
- Small butternut squash
- 40g cashew nuts, soaked for 2h
- 200ml almond milk (or any other plant milk)
- 2 garlic cloves
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot
- 2 tbsp. rapeseed oil or coconut oil
- 2 tbsp. rapeseed oil for greasing the roasting tray
- ½ bunch of coriander, chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper to serve
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220°.
2. Peel the butternut squash, remove the pips and chop into 1.5 cm cubes. Grease the roasting tray with pastry brush, place the squash on top of it and stir it a couple of times so that it’s coated it with oil from all sides. Place in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes until the squash is soft and ‘golden’.
3. Place the cashews, milk, garlic, lemon juice, cornstarch, rapeseed/coconut oil, mustard and roasted butternut squash into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour the mixture into a small cooking pan and cook over a medium heat occasionally stirring for 8-10 minutes until it thickens.
4. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti according to its cooking instructions. When it’s ready, drain and then gently stir in the cashew-butternut squash mixture.
5. Serve with the chopped coriander and black pepper on top.