Sometimes the most unlikely flavor combinations are magical. Take, for example, this pasta with roasted butternut squash and carrots in warm yogurt sauce. It’s a mélange of seemingly random ingredients that complement rather than clash with each other.
I’d never think to throw together:
- Caramelized winter vegetables
- Creamy Greek yogurt (and lots of it!)
- Crispy fried garlic
- And a piquant pepper sauce
But somehow it all works. Pasta with roasted butternut squash and carrots in warm yogurt sauce will tickle your taste buds and satisfy your hunger. Credit goes to Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage, coauthors of Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook, for inspiring me to whip up this dish.
Recipe adapted from Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook.
Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash and Carrots in Warm Yogurt Sauce
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Quick chile sauce:
- 1 Roma tomato, roughly chopped
- 4 Calabrian chiles in oil, removed from oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 4½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Remaining ingredients:
- 1 medium butternut squash (about 1½ pounds), peeled, seeded and cut into 1" cubes
- 3 red carrots, peeled and cut into 1"-thick rounds (see notes)
- 1 onion, cut into 1"-thick wedges
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces mafalda or other short pasta
- 2 cups Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 2 egg yolks
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
- 1¼ teaspoons ground cumin
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
Instructions
Make the quick chile sauce:
- In a food processor, pulse the tomato, Calabrian chiles and salt until finely ground. Add the olive oil and apple cider vinegar and pulse until combined. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Make the pasta:
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place butternut squash, carrots and onion on the baking sheet. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread vegetables in a single layer.
- Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and stir gently. Bake for another 15 minutes or until vegetables are caramelized and fork tender. Remove from the oven and set aside. When the onion is cool enough to handle, cut into 1" pieces.
- In a small sauce pan, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until garlic is golden brown and crispy, about 12 minutes. Remove garlic from pan and set aside on paper towels to drain; reserve oil.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook mafalda until al dente according to package directions. Drain, reserving ¾ cup cooking liquid.
- In a medium bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, egg yolks, cornstarch, cumin and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil; whisk until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large fry pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
- Add cooked pasta, reserved cooking liquid, half of the roasted vegetables and three-quarters of the parsley; toss gently to combine. Cook until heated through, 2-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer pasta mixture to a shallow dish or serving platter and top with remaining roasted vegetables and parsley, one-third of the quick chile sauce, and fried garlic. Drizzle with reserved garlic cooking oil and serve with remaining quick chile sauce.
Notes
You can substitute orange carrots if it's more convenient.
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