The most satisfying plant based dinner there ever was. Chickpea penne in a sauce of thyme roasted butternut squash, dusted with pistachios. We've got all of the comforting goodness with none of the guilt. The chickpea pasta contains one ingredient-- chickpeas (we use Tolerant brand). This means it's got lots of protein, making it a much better option than traditional pasta which only offers you refined carbs. The sauce is creamy and delicious, but with none of the cream. Instead, we roasted butternut squash with thyme to make it super flavorful, and then pureed it with nutritional yeast (NOT baker's yeast-- read about all of the insane nutrition facts of nutritional yeast here). To really take this next level, add a bit of crunch texture and more healthy fats and protein, we topped it all off with dusted pistachios. Sounds like a gourmet meal, but it can all be done in just a few steps and about 35-40 minutes!
Ingredients Makes 4 Servings
1/2 butternut squash
1 box chickpea penne pasta
1/4 Cup nutritional yeast
1 Cup shelled pistachios
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove
thyme
salt + pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut butternut squash length-wise in half, drizzle lightly with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, place a few sprigs of thyme, then flip the squash face down on the pan, and roast for 25-30 minutes (until tender).
3. While roasting, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions
4. Shell your pistachios if you purchased them whole.
5. Remove the squash from the oven when tender. You'll only need half the squash for this recipe. You can save the other half to eat later throughout the week. Remove the skin, and roughly cube the squash, then add to blender or food processor.
6. Add nutritional yeast, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to the blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
7. When the pasta is done, add the sauce to the pasta and mix together.
8. Rinse and dry your blender or food processor, then add in your pistachios and pulse/blend for just a few seconds.
9. Top off your pasta with the pistachio crumbles and additional thyme sprig for garnish.
