It is lick-the-pan good.
It’s also deceivingly easy to prepare. The only “work” involved is chopping (and spiralizing) a few vegetables, then warming them up together in a pan. Though it sounds super-simple, the flavor combination of caramelized onions, mushrooms, fresh sage, and butternut squash are a match made in heaven. You’re literally just minutes away from enjoying this comforting pasta-like dish! In this case, the “pasta” is in the form of butternut squash noodles, for a vegetable-centric and nutrient-rich meal. Though butternut squash tends to be a little tough to cut, turning it into noodles is a piece of cake with the Inspiralizer. My friend, Ali, designed and sent me this particular spiralizer, and what makes it better than others I’ve tried is that it has counter clamps to secure the appliance to your countertop– so you can use both hands to push tough vegetables through the blades. (Butternut squash is one of the few veggies that I’ve needed to use the second handle for– the added pressure makes a huge difference!) To speed up your preparation, all you have to do to get this dish started is thinly slice the onion and mushrooms ahead of time. (You’ll spend even less time on this dish if you can find mushrooms that are already pre-sliced.) While the onion is sautéing, that’s when I usually take the time to spiralize the squash– so I don’t spend any more time in the kitchen than I have to. All together, this dish takes less than 30 minutes to throw together, for a healthy weeknight meal. As written the dish is vegan (and even Whole30 friendly!) and serves roughly two people, but feel free to add your favorite protein to bulk it up a bit more. — Butternut “Pasta” with Mushrooms and Sage Serves 2 Ingredients: 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced 1 (3 pound) butternut squash, peeled 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 heaping tablespoon freshly minced sage leaves 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used Baby Bella) 2 cups curly kale, chopped, with tough stems removed Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper, to taste Directions: Warm the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, and sauté the onion until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes.
While the onion is cooking, cut the “bulb” end of the squash off (where the seeds are found) and set it aside. You are going to spiralize the long part of the squash, as pictured above, so when shopping make sure you select a butternut squash that is on the longer side so you get the most noodles possible. Run the peeled squash through your spiralizer to create spaghetti-like “noodles,” and set them aside for a moment. If the noodles are too long, you may want to chop them a couple times to make them more manageable. Also, if you’d like to include the remaining bulb-part of the squash in this dish, cube it and set it aside with the noodles at this point, too. (I saved mine to roast for the future.) Once the onion is soft, add in the garlic, sage, and mushrooms, and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add in the butternut squash noodles, kale, 2 tablespoons of water, and 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt and then cover the pot to let the vegetables cook until tender, about 10 minutes. (Increase the heat to medium if the water doesn’t start simmering as soon as it hits the pan– you want the veggies to steam while covered.) Stir occasionally to make sure the noodles aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once tender, season with additional salt, if desired, and freshly ground black pepper and serve warm. Enjoy!
Note: If butternut squash isn’t easy to find, I have a feeling you could use sweet potato “noodles” as an alternative. As always, please leave a comment below letting us know what you try! — Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite healthy comfort food lately?
