Roasted Butternut Squash Pappardelle with apple spinach salad
Roasted butternut squash makes a great pasta filling. If you prep and roast the butternut squash beforehand, this weeknight dinner will come together in no time. If you can't find pappardelle (wide Italian noodles), go for a linguine or fettuccine. Regardless, don't skip the onions! They'll add more flavor and texture to this restaurant-quality pasta dinner!
Ingredients
- Apples - 1, sliced thinly ((my fave are honey crisp or pink ladies))
- Maple syrup - 2 tsp
- Balsamic vinegar - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Olive oil - 3 Tbsp
- Baby spinach - 4 oz
- Walnuts - 1/4 cup, crushed
- Butternut squash - 1 , peeled & cubed
- Red onions - 1, sliced
- Balsamic vinegar - 2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp
- Maple syrup - 2 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
- Olive oil - 2 Tbsp
- Pappardelle - 2/3 lb ((or linguine or fettuccine))
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Pine nuts - 1/4 cup
- Parmesan cheese - 1/4 cup, grated
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Butternut squash / Onions - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Roast butternut squash - Preheat oven to 425F (218C) degrees. Mix together first part of balsamic vinegar, first part of maple syrup, and olive oil. Toss with cubed butternut squash directly on a sheet pan, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes until golden on the outside or tender. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Apples - Prep as directed.
Make
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Salt heavily (that water should taste like the ocean!) and add pasta. Cook according to package instructions. Before draining, save 1 cup (235 ml) pasta water.
- Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add butter and then onions to melted butter with a dash of salt. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes and then add second part of balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. Saute for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add in pasta and then toss with reserved pasta water. The starch from the pasta water should create a nice sauce. Add in pine nuts, roasted butternut squash, and parmesan. Cook until everything is warmed through.
- Whisk together maple syrup (use less for a less sweet dressing), vinegar, and olive oil if not already done from yesterday. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with apples, spinach, and walnuts and enjoy with pasta!
Reviews
This meal has 22 reviews
Onions needed much longer cook time to soften and mellow. We threw in some bagged chopped kale and found that a nice addition.
Subtle flavors, but very good. I subbed pecans and almonds for pine nuts and added mushrooms. Next time I would add more cheese, and also another veggie.
A rare total miss. The salad was salad and so it was fine, but I really did not enjoy the pasta. The flavors were flat and over-sweet.
The sauce made up for a strange squash that had no flavor (never had that happen with butternut before)- I was skeptical but it worked well and the vinegar/ maple syrup/ carmelized onion was tasty. UPDATE: tried again with better squash and this was much tastier.
This was good, but we would have liked more vegetables in it and it seemed a little too sweet with the caramelized onions, butternut squash and maple syrup. I'd make it again but with a bit less syrup and balsamic since they both added to the sweetness, subbing with white vinegar, mustard, or lemon juice.
I loved the flavor of this. My only comment would be that we will line the pan with foil next time. The juices burned hard onto it - a cleanup nightmare!