Squash & Avocado Pasta Sauce Recipe
What? You might ask! Squash and avocado? On pasta? Yes! It's yummy!
I had some leftover cooked squash, some goat cheese, and several avocados, all needing to be used up quickly. I wondered how I could combine them?
The resulting sauce was amazingly delicious, and even more enhanced by the addition of some leftover cooked chicken. Mmmm!
Squash & Avocado Pasta Sauce
2 cups cooked winter squash such as butternut
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
3-4 oz. Chevre, softened
1/3 cup toasted pecan pieces (see method below)
4 scallions, washed, white and green parts sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 Tbsp. olive or coconut oil
1 tsp. dried tarragon
2 cups dry pasta (use your favorite shape)
butter and salt and pepper to taste
Optional: small cooked chicken pieces or other meat, about ½ cup
1) Bring a medium pot of water to the boil, drop in the pasta, and cook until just tender. Drain and add a little butter, set aside.
2) While pasta is cooking, scoop the cooked squash out of the skins, and place the pulp in a blender. Add the avocado and puree until smooth.
3) Blend in the goat cheese until incorporated. It’s OK if the mixture is a bit lumpy. Set aside.
4) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and sauté the scallions and garlic until just turning golden. Remove mixture from the blender, and add it to the pan. Reduce heat to low, and stir the mixture to just heat it through, being careful not to let it stick to the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.
4) Mix in the tarragon and pecans. Adjust the seasoning, then stir the pasta into the sauce. Or you can spoon sauce over the pasta on the plates.
This is a very thick sauce, not soupy like tomato sauces. If you want the sauce to be more soupy, you could blend some cream or almond or soymilk into the mixture while heating it up. Either way, it’s delicious!
Dry-toasted pecans method:
Toasting nuts before adding them to a recipe enhances their flavor, and takes only a few minutes.
Heat a small stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add pecans and stir with a wooden spoon until they begin to release their odor and turn a light golden color, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir into the sauce.
I had some leftover cooked squash, some goat cheese, and several avocados, all needing to be used up quickly. I wondered how I could combine them?
The resulting sauce was amazingly delicious, and even more enhanced by the addition of some leftover cooked chicken. Mmmm!
Squash & Avocado Pasta Sauce
2 cups cooked winter squash such as butternut
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
3-4 oz. Chevre, softened
1/3 cup toasted pecan pieces (see method below)
4 scallions, washed, white and green parts sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 Tbsp. olive or coconut oil
1 tsp. dried tarragon
2 cups dry pasta (use your favorite shape)
butter and salt and pepper to taste
Optional: small cooked chicken pieces or other meat, about ½ cup
1) Bring a medium pot of water to the boil, drop in the pasta, and cook until just tender. Drain and add a little butter, set aside.
2) While pasta is cooking, scoop the cooked squash out of the skins, and place the pulp in a blender. Add the avocado and puree until smooth.
3) Blend in the goat cheese until incorporated. It’s OK if the mixture is a bit lumpy. Set aside.
4) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and sauté the scallions and garlic until just turning golden. Remove mixture from the blender, and add it to the pan. Reduce heat to low, and stir the mixture to just heat it through, being careful not to let it stick to the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.
4) Mix in the tarragon and pecans. Adjust the seasoning, then stir the pasta into the sauce. Or you can spoon sauce over the pasta on the plates.
This is a very thick sauce, not soupy like tomato sauces. If you want the sauce to be more soupy, you could blend some cream or almond or soymilk into the mixture while heating it up. Either way, it’s delicious!
Dry-toasted pecans method:
Toasting nuts before adding them to a recipe enhances their flavor, and takes only a few minutes.
Heat a small stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add pecans and stir with a wooden spoon until they begin to release their odor and turn a light golden color, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir into the sauce.
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