Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

I used to subscribe to the Hungry Girl newsletter. I don't anymore because, though some of her recipes seem decent, a majority of them use packaged products or fake products. One thing I especially don't like to use is Fiber One. Let me tell you, I used to love Fiber One until I read online that one of the ingredients, chicory root fiber, actually makes you want to eat more. Marketing strategy? I'm not sure. Either way, I can't stand the taste of it anymore and I would prefer to use freshly made breadcrumbs from whole wheat bread that tastes good if I needed them.

One recipe, however, always stuck with me. Butternut squash fries. I had never even heard of butternut squash before I saw this recipe. I had no idea what it would taste like, but I thought I would try it. My first attack at peeling and cutting the squash was a success and the fries tasted great. I started eating butternut squash a lot more from then on. I branched out to other types of squash too, such as acorn squash. Mmm!

Then I made the mistake of buying them frozen. Maybe I just bought from a bad brand or my batch was from a bad squash, but I couldn't eat it even in stews. I had to get rid of it though because it was taking up unnecessary space in my freezer. Martha Stewart came to the rescue. I may not have followed the recipe exactly, but I loved the idea. Also it's a great change from tomato sauce. Sadly, my breath smells like garlic, but fortunately, I'm not going anywhere special today except for maybe grocery shopping. And it's pouring!

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce [Makes 1 1/2 cups]
Adapted from Martha Stewart

- 1 whole garlic
- 1 1/2 cups butternut squash
- 1/2 cup yogurt mixed with 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup broth
- 1/2 to 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 to 1 tsp dried oregano

1. Cube the squash and bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until tender. Cut a bit off the top of the garlic and brush a bit of oil. Wrap it in garlic and roast along with the squash. When garlic is done and cool enough to handle, just squeeze the cloves out of the skin.
2. Cook pasta according to directions on box. Save a bit of pasta water.
3. Combine squash and garlic in blender and puree. While the blender is still going, pour in yogurt mixture, the broth, parsley, oregano, and salt to taste. Keep blending until smooth.
4. To serve, pour sauce over pasta and use the reserved pasta water to thin out sauce if desired.

I actually really liked it more than I had expected myself to. This was a perfect meal for today as it is gloomy and dreary outside and the rain doesn't look like it'll stop. To me, eating squash is associated with the fall, so it made me feel warmer and forget about the rain for a bit.




I don't think I deviated too much from Martha's original recipe, but you should check out the original recipe to tweak to your desire.