Two Bray coach houses have been converted into a bright and spacious family home
Two Bray coach houses have been converted into a bright and spacious family home

Megan Burns

Vogue Williams’ new ‘chic Barbie’ kitchen and the pastel / wallpaper combos she’s loving
Vogue Williams’ new ‘chic Barbie’ kitchen and the pastel / wallpaper combos she’s loving

Vogue Williams

WIN a full MasterChef Professional Stainless Steel Cookware Set
WIN a full MasterChef Professional Stainless Steel Cookware Set

IMAGE

Social Pictures: Boodles celebrates its new partnership with Punchestown Festival
Social Pictures: Boodles celebrates its new partnership with Punchestown Festival

IMAGE

It may appear tiny from the front, but this Ballsbridge cottage on the market for €750,000 is surprisingly spacious
It may appear tiny from the front, but this Ballsbridge cottage on the market for...

Megan Burns

This picturesque West Cork home with separate basement apartment is on the market for €695,000
This picturesque West Cork home with separate basement apartment is on the market for €695,000

Sarah Finnan

‘The Easter holidays are a fresh kind of hell when you have kids and a job’
‘The Easter holidays are a fresh kind of hell when you have kids and a...

Dominique McMullan

Annutri co-founder and award-winning businesswoman Anita Donoghue on the power of a positive mindset
Annutri co-founder and award-winning businesswoman Anita Donoghue on the power of a positive mindset

IMAGE

This Clontarf home was reconfigured to streamline the layout and maximise its views
This Clontarf home was reconfigured to streamline the layout and maximise its views

Megan Burns

6 classic movies worth watching over Easter
6 classic movies worth watching over Easter

Jennifer McShane

Image / Living / Food & Drink

Waste not: This seed-to-skin butternut squash pasta is absolutely delicious


By Meg Walker
18th Dec 2023

MORE PLANTS LESS WASTE BY MAX LA MANNA. HODDER & STOUGHTON 2019

Waste not: This seed-to-skin butternut squash pasta is absolutely delicious

This seed-to-skin butternut squash pasta is a warm bowl of hearty deliciousness, perfect for dark December dinners.

One vegetable I never ate when I was growing up was butternut squash – I think my parents thought we wouldn’t like it. Well, they hadn’t tried adding it to pasta! In this dish, the skins can be peeled then roasted or simply left on. Save the seeds as you can toast them and have them as a snack or use them to add extra crunch to a soup or salad.

Seed to skin squash and sage pasta
Serves 4-5

Ingredients

  • 5-7 sage leaves (or 1 tbsp dried sage)
  • 1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped (keep the skin and seeds)
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled (save the skins for your vegetable stock or compost them)
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 200ml milk (I like coconut but use any you have)
  • 500g pasta (I like pappardelle for its thickness and because the lengths pick up more of the sauce)
  • salt and pepper


To serve

  • handful of rocket or shredded kale


Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6. In a bowl, mix the sage, squash seeds and skins with a tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the tray once roasted and lightly crisped. Separate the sage, seeds and skins for later.
  2. Put your butternut squash, garlic and onion on the same baking tray with a light drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pepper and paprika. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and crisp and the flesh is soft.
  3. Once ready, leave to cool on the baking tray. To a blender or food processor, add your roasted garlic and onion and half of the milk. Give this a good blend until smooth and creamy. Add the roasted butternut squash, a few leaves of roasted sage and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse until thick and a bit chunky still – if you blend at a high speed continuously, you’ll end up making a soup.
  4. Cook the pasta until tender (or cooked to your liking), then transfer to a serving bowl with heaping spoonfuls of the sauce and toss to coat evenly. Serve with the roasted pumpkin skins and toasted seeds. Adding a bit of leafy greens like rocket or shredded kale can really give this dish more nutritional value (we mustn’t forget our greens).

 

Extracted from More Plants Less Waste by Max La Manna (Yellow Kite). Photograph by Andrew Burton.