Butternut Squash Spelt Rigatoni, with Wilted Spinach and Pinenuts

This is a recipe I created a while back and forgot to post! A deliciously creamy butternut squash sauce (without any cream in it at all), paired with wholesome spelt pasta to create an incredibly satisfying and nourishing bowl of goodness.

As well as being super easy to make, this recipe is also extremely adaptable. The sauce is essentially a really thick butternut squash soup, so any left overs can be made into a spiced squash soup simply by adding some more stock! I also use the recipe for this sauce to stir into butternut squash risotto at the end of cooking.

I chose to use spelt pasta in this recipe due to it's fibre rich content and far greater nutritional benefits than wheat pasta, which make it much easier for our bodies to digest. Luckily, I much prefer the taste and texture of spelt pasta too! Spelt pasta is available in health food shops, and now in many supermarkets. However, if you can't get hold of any then try substituting it with whole wheat pasta.

Ingredients:

• glug of olive oil

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or rosemary

• 1/4 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes

• 1 medium butternut squash

• 1 medium yellow onion

• 3 garlic cloves

• Sea salt

• Black pepper

• 400ml vegetable stock

• 300g spelt rigatoni

• 1 bag of fresh spinach

• large handful of pinenuts

Method:

1) Cut the butternut squash in half lengthways and spoon out the seeds. Peel the butternut squash and chop the flesh into small cubes. Finely chop the onion and 2 cloves of garlic. (Try washing and roasting the squash seeds in the oven for 10 mins, lightly coated in olive oil, salt and pepper! They can be enjoyed as a delicious snack, or can be used to top the pasta in place of the pinenuts).

2) Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add the squash, onion, garlic and dried chilli flakes. Leave to cook for 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add sage/rosemary and a large pinch of salt and cook for another minute longer.

3) Add the vegetable stock to the pan. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 mins. The liquid should reduce and the squash should become soft.

4) Whilst the squash is cooking, you can begin to make the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the pack instructions. Spelt pasta cooks fairly quickly, it usually takes about 8 minutes tops! When you drain your pasta, leave a small amount of the cooking water in the pan.

5) Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, do not add any oil. Add the pinenuts and cook for a few minutes until they become golden in colour. Remove from the pan and set aside.

6) Heat up some more olive oil in the same frying pan. Chop the remaining clove of garlic and add to the pan, along with the bag of spinach. Cover and cook over a medium heat until the spinach is wilted.

7) Once the squash mixture is cooked, remove from the heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Pour the contents of the pan into a blender and purée until it is completely smooth. I use my Nutribullet for this part, but any blender will do. Once blended, tip contents back into the pan and season with salt and pepper.

8) Tip the pasta and cooking water into the pan of butternut squash sauce, and stir until well combined.

9) To serve, top with the wilted spinach, pinenuts and more black pepper!

Enjoy! x