One of my absolute favourite things to do is make a super creamy sauce which tastes like it should be full of calories when in fact it’s totally not! It’s so easy to create a delicious sauce using a pre-roasted or steamed butternut squash. Pre-roasting gives it a really lovely flavour and this is my preference but if you are short on time, peel and chop the butternut squash and steam it until it’s soft enough to blitz in your food processor. I find it works well to pop a butternut squash in the oven if I know it’s going to be on for a while cooking other things, you can keep it in the fridge or freeze it for when you need it next.
The almost instant cashew cream cheese is a revelation to me! This stuff adds a bit of substance to your meal! It’s handy to have in the fridge ready for spreading on sandwiches or adding it to pasta dishes like I have here. It takes just 20 minutes soaking then a quick blitz in the food processor with the other ingredients and it’s ready to use. Tha’s my kind of food prep!
Sprouting the buckwheat makes them easier to digest and releases vital nutrients locked inside. If you don’t have a few days to wait for dinner because you’re starvin Marvin and need it NOW! Then just pop the buckwheat in some water before you begin cooking and it will be ready to use by the time you serve. You can leave them out but you’ll be missing out on some great nutrition and extra texture in the meal.
That squeeze of lemon juice helps to cut through the flavours, brings them all together and adds a zing!
Don’t forget you could use this butternut cream sauce in a lasagne too 😉 Enjoy!
Vegan Tagliatelle with Butternut Sauce, Cashew Cheese & Sprouted Buckwheat
Ingredients
- 100 g tagliatelle pasta
- 1 small courgette julienne peeled into thin strips or spiralised if you don't have a julienne peeler or grated if you don't have either!
- 1 handful cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 handful fresh spinach washed
- 0.5 small red onion sliced
- 1 dash olive oil to serve
- 0.5 lemon to serve
Butternut Squash Cream Sauce
- 200 g pre-roasted butternut squash if you do not have pre-roasted, peel, dice and steam the butternut until soft enough to blend
- 200 mls plantbased milk I used soya
- 1 tsp dried coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried onion powder
- 0.5 tsp dried garlic
- 1 pinch sea salt and ground black pepper
Cashew Cream Cheese
- 1 cup cashews soaked in boiled water for 20 minutes or overnight in cold water
- 0.5 cup nutritional yeast flakes this will give the cheesy flavour
- 1 squeeze fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
- 0.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1 pinch sweet smoked paprika
- 1 pinch sea salt & Ground black pepper
Sprouted Buckwheat
- 0.5 cup buckwheat groats left to soak in water for 20 minutes then rinsed a few times per day for 3 days until they begin to sprout. If you do not have time to sprout them, simply soak for 20 mins in cold water
Instructions
Cashew Cream Cheese
- Add all the cashew cream cheese ingredients to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Leave covered in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
Butternut Squash Cream Sauce
- Add all the butternut squash cream sauce ingredients to a pan and blitz until smooth. Leave to one side while you cook the pasta.
Pasta and Courgette
- Cook the pasta as per packet instructions.
- Once cooked, retain a cup of the cooking water and drain the rest away.
- Add the courgette and spinach leaves and stir through.
- Add the butternut squash cream sauce and stir through.
- Add a little of the cooking water to thin the sauce to your required consistency.
- Check the temperature of the pasta and reheat gently if needed, otherwise, add to the serving bowl.
- Add the buckwheat, tomatoes and red onion, a side serving of cashew cream cheese, a dash of olive oil and ground black pepper and serve immediately with a piece of lemon on the side.
