Nutty whole wheat pasta. A creamy sauce made of sweet delicata squash. Some savories, and greens from the garden. A comforting dish for a rainy night.
It finally rained. Not the longest rain ever, and certainly nothing to cause the flood-damaged to worry, but a sweet summer rain that sounded like music of the angels as it fell on the roof two nights ago. Oh, we’ve missed that sound. Not quite cold enough to start a fire, but definitely a night were we wanted a nice bowl of comfort and we could feel autumn knocking at the door. We’ve had enough salads for a while, although the cherry tomatoes are still coming on strong and we have at least a token dish of them at each meal, often a little bowl of them sits marinating, ready to be enlisted into service.
How the weather changes
We’re getting more rain today, and what a relief after the dry spell we’ve had. With so much rain at the beginning of the summer here in Vermont, I doubt we could imagine how the weather would change so dramatically the rest of the season. Feast or famine. Floods or drought. A happy medium would be nice, but I’ll take the rain for now without complaint.
A garden winner
Our Swiss chard has been abundant as well this year, although I can’t really remember a season when it wasn’t. It is a garden staple from early spring well past frost, and if you protect it, you might even harvest it in the snow. You just have to keep picking, and using it. If you have only a small space for a garden, this is one of the best producers, and like all dark leafy greens, this vegetable is filled with nutrition. Move over kale, chard may just edge you out! I grow a little of the rainbow chard and just a few plants keeps me happy all summer.
The winter keeping squash have arrived, at least some of them
You know the seasons are thinking about turning when you spy the delicata and sweet dumpling squashes at the market. They are great winter keepers, their flavor holding up for months after being picked, if stored in a cool place. But I buy them because they are my favorite winter keeping squash, sweet, tender, and it seems everyone likes them. It’s a good thing, because they are loaded with nutrition, and every inch of the fruit is edible, the skin, the flesh, and the seeds. A half cup is only 35 calories, but serves as a lovely starch on the plate weighing in at only 9 carbohydrates, balanced off with 2 grams of fiber. Full of phytonutrients, protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, including half your daily Vitamin A, and 350 g. potassium. Only a trace of fat, no cholesterol or saturated fat. There’s everything to love about this vegetable but mostly the flavor.
Easy to cook
The easiest way of cooking them is just to pierce them a couple of times with knife and toss them in a hot oven until soft and browning on the outside, about a half hour. Scoop out the flesh and mash. Or, slice the raw fruit into rings and roast for about 15 minutes in that hot oven, turning once. It’s lovely to serve, and the easiest prep.
A stand in for the creaminess of a cheese sauce
Because there are quite a few dairy-free folks in my extended family, I have often made a macaroni and cheese-like dish using well-puréed butternut squash as the sauce and it’s quite tasty; it fools the eye, but still delivers on comforting flavor. For the cheese-loving kids in the family, I add the puréed squash to a cheese sauce to add a vegetable to the mix. They love it that way. Even if you are not dairy forlorn, you might like this combination. This time around, the dish included some of that wonderful chard, a few exquisite mushrooms, and I boosted the flavor of the sauce with lots of aromatics, not neglecting the beautiful glaze in the pan after sautéing onions.
Of course, make it your way!
I had whole wheat rotini in the pantry, but sub out any pasta you like. A red lentil penne would be delicious here, or shells, or even egg noodles. No chard? Spinach, kale, even arugula will step into the role nicely. Of course, if you can consume dairy, you can add a generous sprinkling of good Parmesan at the serving time.
Pasta with Delicata Squash and Swiss Chard
- 2 delicata squash
- 8 oz. whole wheat rotini
- 8 oz. mushrooms of choice, sliced
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 cup stock or water
- 1small bunch of Swiss chard, about 6 large leaves
Preheat oven to 450 F. (230 C.) or slightly lower if using a convection fan. Pierce the squash a couple of times with a sharp knife and toss in the oven. Roast until a knife inserted meets no resistance and the outside is slightly browned. Let cool, then scoop out the seeds. Place the flesh in a food processor and purée.
Prep the vegetables: slice the mushrooms, dice the onion, and mince the garlic. For the chard, strip the leaves off and chop the stems, these will cook at different rates.
In the meantime, heat a large skillet over medium high, and put a pot of water on to boil the pasta. Once boiling, drop the pasta and set your timer according to package directions.
Once the skillet is hot, add a swig of olive oil and toss in the mushrooms. Once cooked and starting to brown, remove from the pan and set aside. Add the onions to the skillet and sauté until everything is soft and starting to glaze the pan. Season with salt and pepper, then add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for a minute or two, until fragrant. Deglaze with the stock or water, then add this whole mixture to the food processor. Purée again until very smooth, although it might be a bit thick at this stage. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
Using the same skillet, add a bit more oil and toss in the peppers and chard stems. Continue to sauté until the stems are soft, add a bit more stock, and add the chard leaves. Cover, reduce heat to low, and let simmer until the greens have wilted. Check seasoning.
When you drain your pasta, save a cup of the water to thin out the sauce if need be. I drain the pasta and return it to the same pan for mixing everything up. Add the sauce and the chard along with pasta water to bring everything to the desired consistency.
Place in a serving bowl and top with the mushrooms, or you can just add the mushrooms along with the chard and peppers, it’s up to you. It all gets mixed in at the end!
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Rain, glorious rain!
Delicious. It’s definitely autumnal in London now!
It doesn’t take long once the calendar hits September!
Looks delicious and I love house you incorporate greens – healthy and delciious as well!
Thanks John! With so much chard in the garden, it slips into many dishes! I also love it in beans.
Thank you, Dorothy, for the wonderful dish that I could eat from the screen of my laptop!
Joanna
Ah, thank you my friend! I was thinking of you when I made this because it is completely vegan!
I’m ready for fall also. Your pasta is a great way to start the season.
I was happy to see them at the market, but a little sad as well. They were exceptionally sweet.
That’s fish looks heartwarming. Comfort food at its best. 🍁🍂🌾
Thank you. All you have to do around here is say the word pasta!
I get it!
I’ve never seen a recipe for a pasta sauce made with squash. You are clever.
I did it originally to trick the kids, the creamy orange did the trick. Of course, I did add a bit of cheese to theirs, and sprinkled some on top, but it really doesn’t need it at all. So good!
Summer tomatoes, hot peppers, and fresh corn came late to the Farmers’ Markets here this season. I’m not ready to give ’em up, either! Summer is my favorite season, with its profusion of fruits and veggies. Come winter we’ll have to make do with kale, winter squash, cauliflower and such until Springtime. So I’m emjoying while I can!!! (and will be freezing some cherry tomatoes, thank you)
Oh yes! I just tucked another bag in the freezer. Love them in soup in the middle of winter. We have such an abundance of everything right now.
A beautiful and nutritious delight. We have rain finally, also–two wonderful gifts in the same post for you! Thank you for that wonderful view from your door, too–it is a meditation.
Thanks Suz! I’m so pleased you are getting some rain as well. It feels so good!
The rain came to us Thurs night and it’s looking very threatening right now. Lord knows, we need it! Delicious and hardy, heart healthy and stick-to-your-ribs goodness! What a gorgeous squash and pasta dish. I’m drooling. Love greens & beans, too! Yum!
This is definitely my sort of dish. All those lovely vegetables adding their own special flavours, with a bit of pasta in a nice puddle of sauce.
How lovely to see the rain – you won’t have to get the hose out tonight!!
Oh, we were so happy Mary, it’s been so dry here, and it’s going to get dry again, but it was so lovely while it was raining!
Love this! It’s right up my culinary alley!
Thanks Mimi, and I’m sure you will have a twist or two to add!
Flavoursome, fun and filling 🙂 !
Thanks Eha! It is most definitely all three!
Souds delicious!
Many thanks! It’s really a bowl of delicious.
Wonderful descriptions of fall. And yes, too much rain in the spring, not enough this summer. Sigh
The recipe in this post sounds delicious. One for the files. We are big fans of delicata squash.
Thanks Laurie! I get really happy when these little babies hit the stands!
Delicious 😋
Looks like a perfect rainy day dish, I love the idea of using roast squash as a cheese sauce alternative ~ very clever! I totally agree with you about rainbow chard, it can be so under appreciated but gives such a lot over a long time in a small space and is pretty when sunlit at this time of year, too. We love to tuck stems under a lemony herby roast chicken along with onions and carrots, then wilt the greens over a pan of ‘green-up’ (your ‘hodge-podge’) to serve alongside. Delicious. The hens enjoy the older, daggy leaves, too. 😊
It all sounds so good, and I’m sure your feathered ladies love the treat and reward you with rich orange egg yolks!
I love squash of any kind! Now, if only my husband could even tolerate it. 🙂
Well, Judy, these are little, so you can tuck a baked potato in the oven for him, and a delicata just for you!
I love Delicata Squash. Roasted is the only way I have ever had it.
The roasting really brings out the flavor Eunice. So tasty!
So yummy, more people should cook and eat veggies they cook from their own gardens or farmer markets.
I totally agree!!!
Ah, we have had the same weather pattern this summer — including a day of goodish rain this week!
Love your recipe, as usual, and delicata squash in general. We serve roasted/maple glazed half rings in fall salads at the inn. That was the first way I tried it. Yum!
Love those little rings! And maple glaze, perfect!!!
This sounds wonderful Dorothy, I love the idea of using delicata squash for a sauce!
Jenna
Thanks Jenna! It makes a superb sauce, we really love it.
What is rain? Lol, this looks really delicious and perfectly autumnal
Thank you!
We’d forgotten what it sounded like too!
I appreciate these ways to put perfectly in-season squash to good use – yummy!
Thanks! Enjoy all those fresh veggies!
It’s not rainy here but you sure made me hungry! That looks like a healthy meal that’s delicious! Such a beautiful yard especially the rock patio!!!
Thank you Diane! We love our back yard and all our beautiful plants!
I haven’t made or remember seeing that type of squash, Dorothy. I’ll have to look for it. Thank you!
Happy hunting! They are small and very mild and sweet in flavor.
I will definitely try this recipe. Sounds absolutely delicious (and so nutritious!)
Thank you Kate! It is really hearty and delicious!
A great Indian Summer dish. The squash purée is a new one for me. Sending yummy hearts.❤️❤️❤️❤️
It has been popular in my house!
The colors of the Swiss chard are beautiful!
Aren’t they? Love going out to the garden and looking at those vibrant colors. Thanks for stopping by!
Swiss chard is a vegetable I don’t use enough. I seldom see it at my local farmers’ market. Maybe I should raise a little next year.
Give it a try! It takes little space, and the more you cut it, the more you get, from spring right up to winters edge!
Mmm, I love everything about this dish! Also, your Swiss chard is absolutely gorgeous. 🤩
It seems like it is always a good year for Swiss chard Terrie! Perfect for this climate I guess.
What a beautiful and delicious dish! 😋😋
Thank you Ribana! It was really tasty.
Many thanks! It’s definitely a keeper.