I came across this recipe yesterday and was immediately intrigued for a few reasons:
It used a bunch of produce we have on our farm right now (butternut squash, kale, & garlic)
It was vegetarian (perfect for that meatless Monday trend)
It was a creamy pasta dish (because, duh, what better comfort food is there?!)
AND it was still high in protein and all-around pretty balanced
I was hooked! I had most the ingredients on hand, so I went for it… The verdict? I’m so glad I did! I’ve had some not so great experiences with one-pot pastas in the past, leaving me with a runny mixture of seemingly random ingredients, but this one turned out perfectly. The original recipe called for fresh basil and pumpkin seeds, which I didn’t have on hand at the time, so I made a few tweaks to fit my pantry. It was quick, easy, and pretty darn tasty. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
*Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 -- 13 minutes
Ingredients
2 teaspoons dried basil
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 small lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic
1 (15-ounce) can white kidney beans
12 ounces dried spaghetti
1 cup butternut squash purée (can sub sweet potato or pumpkin purée)
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
3 cups loosely-packed kale
¼ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
Finely grate the zest of ½ a small lemon. Combine with the dried basil and red pepper flakes, then whisk in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir to combine; set aside. Halve the lemon and set aside.
Thinly slice 6 garlic cloves and add to a large straight-sided skillet (we like this one) or Dutch oven. Drain and rinse 1 can white kidney beans. Add 1/2 the beans, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, 12 ounces spaghetti, 1 cup canned butternut squash purée, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
Add 4 ½ cups water and bring to a boil over high heat (this will take about 5 minutes). Boil the mixture, stirring and turning the pasta with tongs to prevent sticking, until the pasta is al dente and almost all the liquid has evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. In the last two minutes of cooking, add 3 cups baby kale.
Remove from the heat. Stir in 1/2 cup of the plain Greek yogurt, the remaining beans, the shredded mozzarella, the herbed oil mixture, and the juice from ½ the lemon. Stir with tongs, and taste, adding more lemon juice and salt as needed. Divide the pasta between 6 bowls and garnish each bowl with the shredded Parmesan cheese, and more black pepper.
Recipe Note:
To reheat leftovers, warm in a skillet with a splash of water, tossing until the sauce loosens up and is creamy. Season with salt, to taste, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Recipe slightly modified from: https://www.thekitchn.com/one-pot-pasta-recipes-261459