Comfort food with slow roasted flavours.
I came up with this recipe on a quiet Saturday night when I was living alone—and it turned out so good, I genuinely wished someone else was there just so I could show off how great it tasted. After seeing so many videos online of people roasting a whole head of garlic, I decided to give it a go and the results did not disappoint (if you like garlic of course, but who doesn’t?). Having the patience to roast a whole head of garlic until it turns into a delicious, caramelized paste that you spread is totally worth it.
Besides the garlic, this sauce has such a smooth and sweet taste from the squash that makes for an autumnal or wintery comfort food for a Saturday night in with a movie and cosy blankets.
Effort: ⅗. You will need to chop some veg but it comes together quickly in the end.
Preferred season to enjoy: Autumn
Ingredients:
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 shallot
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 250 ml of fresh cream or vegan cream
- 50 g of grated parmesan or nutritional yeast (additional 20g for topping if desired)
- 70g of pistachios or walnuts for topping
- 1 -2 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- Recommended pasta – penne or rigatonni
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180℃.
2. Prepare your veg:
– Peel and chop the butternut into 2cm cubes
– Roughly chop the shallot into chunks
– Slice the top off of the garlic bulb leaving the bulb whole.
3. Place the garlic bulb on a piece of tin foil, drizzle a tbsp of olive oil over the exposed tops and sprinkle salt over the top. Wrap the bulb tightly in the tin foil and place in the oven. Leave it to roast in the foil for 40 to 60 minutes or until the cloves of garlic are soft and squishy.
4. Place the butternut squash on a roasting tray and drizzle vegetable oil over the cubes. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and make sure it is fully coated. Place in the oven and roast for 40 minutes.
5. Halfway through roasting, add the shallot chunks. Toss to coat them in the oil and seasonings, then return to the oven for the remaining 20 minutes.
6. Toss your pistachios or walnuts for a few minutes either on a dry frying pan or in the air fryer for 2 to 3 minutes. Chop the nuts once ready, they will be used to sprinkle over the pasta when serving.
7. Once all the veg is all fully cooked, remove from the oven and leave it to sit for 5 minutes. Then, place all the veg into a food processor or blender. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves which should now be a soft paste into the blender. Place the cream in the blender and blend into a smooth sauce.
8. Place the blended sauce into a saucepan and place it on low heat. Add the grated parmesan or nutritional yeast, pepper, salt and thyme. Make sure to taste and add more seasonings as you go depending on your desired tastes.
9. Start preparing your favourite pasta to go with it while leaving the sauce simmering to develop the taste. Stop cooking the pasta 1 minute less than the instructions on the packet. Keep some of the pasta water to one side.
10. Mix the sauce, pasta and some pasta water all together for 1 – 2 minutes. Make sure the pasta is fully coated in the sauce and that the sauce is an even consistency.
11. Serve straight away and sprinkle the toasted nuts on top and a little drizzle of olive oil and extra parmesan if desired.
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