You can make this with any well flavoured, orange fleshed squash – Crown Prince works well as does Kabocha but I’ve used Butternut here because that is what I had to hand! I also had fresh sage to hand because I grow it in the garden but you can use dried if you wish, just halve the quantity used. While we’re on quantities, we are complete garlic heads, if you’re not do adjust the amount to suit your tastes!
Don’t, however, switch these delicious chestnut mushrooms out for those white capped things; not the same at all, you’ll just be disappointed. You could swap them for portabello mushrooms, I’d allow that, but be prepared for them to leak colour into your pasta, it may go a bit black but it will taste fab.
If you can get fresh chestnuts, and you have the patience for roasting and peeling, go for it! I didn’t, I bought freeze dried in a packet and very tasty they are too. I have also made this Pappardelle recipe with the addition of roast sprouts which, frankly, takes it to a whole other dimension and is highly recommended!
I usually start cooking the pasta about 10 minutes before the squash is due to come out – it saves time and everything comes together quickly then making this an excellent midweek meal when you just feel like flopping on the sofa in front of the telly.
Ingredients
- 150 g Pappardelle pasta check it's vegan
- 300 g squash deseeded, peeled and chopped into bite size chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped
- 150 g chestnut mushrooms sliced
- 50 g chestnuts finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh sage chopped
- salt and black pepper
- vegan parmesan cheese to serve optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190C
- Place your squash in a baking tray, drizzle with one tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper, shake to coat and roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is soft and beginning to brown
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add a pinch of salt and cook the pappardelle according to the packet instructions until al dente, drain well
- While the pasta is cooking heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan and sauté the mushrooms until they have released their juices and the juices have fried off, add the garlic, sage, chopped chestnuts, cooked squash and cook gently for 2 minutes
- Add the drained pasta to the frying pan of veg and use two forks to toss it all together
- Serve topped with freshly grated vegan cheese and ground black pepper to taste
Pin the Pappardelle!
