The Cascade Kitchen is a student-run food column that brings you budget-friendly recipes and cooking tips. Consider contributing a favourite recipe of your own, or check back weekly for something new to try in the kitchen.
What’s not to love about butternut squash? It has a sweet, hearty taste that’ll keep you warm during the colder months of the year, and best of all? It’s in season right now! The great thing about buying produce in season is that it’s kinder to your wallet, and can be more environmentally friendly. Stores are able to provide out-of-season produce to consumers because they ship produce from afar while in season, which generally means your food has been transported a shorter distance or could even be local. Since there’s a higher supply of in-season produce, this also means great sales and lower prices. This week’s recipe turns the butternut squash into a creamy sauce that’ll fool you into thinking it’s mac & cheese.
Ready in: 40 minutes. Serves: 8
Ingredients
15 ml (1 tbsp) of oil
~2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
900 ml carton of broth (veggie, beef, etc.)
Pasta of choice, cooked
5 ml (1 tsp) sage
5 ml (1 tsp) thyme
2 ml (1/2 tsp) paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Blender is also needed at the end
Tip: If you’re preparing a fresh squash there are a few ways to go about it. My method was to cut the squash into wheels then shave the skin off the sides before dicing. Another is to poke the sides with a fork and microwave for ~5 minutes to soften it before cutting.
Instructions
- Warm your oil in a large soup pot before adding the onion and garlic. You’ll want to cook this until the onion is nice and translucent. At this point lightly salt.
- Add your diced butternut squash. Don’t stress too much over the exact weight of the squash, it’ll just affect how much sauce you get in the end. Immediately pour in your carton of broth until it’s about an inch from the top of the squash. Less is more here since this changes the consistency of the end product. Down the road you can always add more, but you can’t take away.
- Cook with the lid on for ~25 minutes, or until the squash is fork tender.
- Remove from the heat and carefully spoon the mixture into a blender capable of withstanding some hot food. Make sure to keep the lid cracked open just a bit or open the vent on the top to release steam. Also don’t underestimate the squash — it’s hot!
- As you blend batches of squash, transfer them to a new pot. At this point you’ll be able to see the consistency of your sauce. Now you can add more broth until you get something that can coat a noodle without being too thin.
- Now’s the time to add your spices! I wholeheartedly encourage you to add the listed amounts of spices then taste and adjust as needed. They’re just a baseline to get you started.
- Serve sauce with pasta and enjoy. If you aren’t vegan then grating cheese on top takes it to the next level of creamy deliciousness.
Image: Elyssa English/The Cascade
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.
