Butternut Orecchiette with Spinach and Pine Nuts

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Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 5
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 602.8
  • Total Fat: 13.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
  • Sodium: 624.0 mg
  • Total Carbs: 105.4 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 16.2 g
  • Protein: 22.1 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Butternut Orecchiette with Spinach and Pine Nuts calories by ingredient


Introduction

Adapted from a recipe on The First Mess Adapted from a recipe on The First Mess
Number of Servings: 5

Ingredients

    sauce:
    1 butternut squash, halved lengthwise
    1 tbsp olive oil
    salt and pepper
    handful of thyme sprigs (optional)
    1 tbsp olive oil
    2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
    2 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and chopped
    chili flakes (optional)
    juice of 1/2 a lemon
    1 cup vegetable stock

    pasta:
    2 cups dried orecchiette (or other small pasta)
    1.5 cups cooked navy beans
    big handful (1/2 cup) grated pecorino, or parmeggiano or grana podano etc.
    2 big handfuls of washed baby spinach
    1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scatter the handful of thyme sprigs across the paper. Rub the halves of squash with the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and lay face down on the thyme sprigs. Place squash in the oven and roast until very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

Once you can handle the squash, scoop the cooked flesh from the skins into a bowl, discarding the thyme sprigs. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, thyme and chili flakes, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the roasted squash and stir it all up, mashing the squash down into the sautéing aromatics. Add the lemon juice and the vegetable stock, stir until roughly combined and remove from the heat. Puree the squash and garlic mixture in a blender or food processor, or use a potato masher adding more liquid if necessary.

Return the squash sauce to the soup pot over medium heat. Season with a fat pinch of salt and lots of pepper at this point.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water before draining.

Once squash sauce is simmering, add cooked pasta, beans, pecorino, spinach and pine nuts, reserving a bit of each for garnish if you like. Add some of the pasta water of you want to loosen the mixture up a bit. Serve hot.

Serving Size: 5 big bowls

Number of Servings: 5

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CATCH23.