Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a teaspoon of salt, then add the pasta. Stir well and boil for about 7 minutes, until partially cooked.
Meanwhile, wash and chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Add the broccoli to the boiling water and continue to boil until the pasta is cooked to your liking and the broccoli is soft (about 8 minutes). Strain, and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
cook the squash and onions
Select a whole butternut squash, purchase prepared butternut squash chunks, or skip this step and use a 15.5-oz can of squash or pumpkin.
If you are using a whole butternut squash, I recommend steaming it. To prepare for steaming, slice off the top and bottom first. Next, use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin, OR cut the squash in half down the middle, stand up each side individually, and carefully use your knife to trim the skins off. Next, slice the peeled squash pieces lengthwise and remove the seeds with a large spoon. Finally, chop into 1-inch chunks.
Chop the onion roughly.
Bring a cup of water to a boil in a saucepan and insert a steamer basket. Add the chopped squash and onions, and steam for 12 minutes, until the squash is soft and breaks apart easily.
finish the sauce
Use a blender, an immersion blender, or a potato masher to make the sauce.
Combine cooked squash and onions, tahini, miso, vinegar, salt, black pepper, and 1 ½ cups of water. Blend, or mash until smooth and creamy.
combine and serve
Transfer the sauce into the mixing bowl with the cooked pasta and add chopped parsley. Use a couple large spoons to fully incorporate the sauce with the pasta.
Add any optional add-ins, such as grated cheddar cheese, chopped red bell peppers, fresh garlic and/or additional fresh herbs.
Serve in individual serving bowls and top with optional pumpkin seeds or almonds. Enjoy with arugula salad or another green salad to balance out the richness of the pasta.
Notes
Pasta
Use your favorite pasta shape. It can be elbows, or you can do penne, farfalle, fusilli, etc.
Tahini
Tahini is a source of healthy fats made from sesame seeds that are ground into a paste. If you don’t have tahini, substitute with sunflower butter, cream, or cream cheese.
Umeboshi plum vinegar
Umeboshi plum vinegar is made from the salted, pickled Japanese ume plum.Popular in macrobiotic cooking, and a personal favorite of mine, ume plum is known to promote digestion and the assimilation of nutrients in the small intestine.If you don’t have this vinegar, use apple cider, white wine, white vinegar, etc.Umeboshi plum vinegar is salty, so if you substitute with another vinegar, you may need to add extra salt to the recipe.
Miso
Miso is also salty, and brings the umami flavor to this vegan dish. I used 1 tablespoon of brown rice miso, which is medium strength. If you use a lighter white miso, you might need to add more.Miso adds savory umami flavor. Use as much as you like to achieve the taste that you prefer.If you don’t have miso, substitute with nutritional yeast, or just leave it out.
Cheese
This recipe is wonderful without cheese, but it’s even better with cheese. Try cream cheese or cheddar. Experiment.
optional add-ins
More vegetables! Feel free to add carrots, cauliflower, kale, Swiss chard, etc. along with the broccoli
Cheddar cheese (½ cup), chopped or shredded
Red bell peppers (½ cup), chopped and sautéed with the onions
Garlic (1-2 cloves), for that taste!
Fresh basil, oregano, etc.
Optional bake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.Transfer the prepared pasta into a baking tray. Sprinkle with crushed pumpkin seeds or almonds. Breadcrumbs could also be nice for texture.Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is lightly browned, bubbling, and fragrant.