Winter Pasta - Brown Rice Penne with Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard

I may have mentioned this before, but if I haven't, I really love winter squash... really, really, really love winter squash. Kabocha Squash is my ultimate favorite, but I also love, delicata, butternut and acorn. The health benefits of winter squash are numerous, namely they are packed with phytochemicals- those important anti-oxidants that help us fight off diseases like Cancer, and a plethora of vitamins and minerals, namely Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium, Folate, and the B Vitamins.

So, this week I was feeling like comfort food and decided to make this creamy pasta dish studded with chunks of fresh roasted butternut squash, along with swiss chard that had been sauteed up with a touch of oil, garlic, and Field Roast seitan sausage. This was a hearty plate, filling and satisfying. I had pre-roasted my butternut squash cubes very simply in a light coating of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 375 for about 20 minutes or until fork tender. (This can be done in advance, and then re-heated)

I used brown rice penne pasta. I am not gluten sensitive, but I try to reduce the amount of gluten that I eat when I can. Since the Field Roast sausage that I was using is made from vital wheat gluten, I thought I should go with a gluten-free pasta to balance it out. If you haven't tried brown rice pasta yet, I highly recommend it. You can't tell any difference, and it is more nutritious than regular pasta. The only thing that I have found is that brown rice pasta is not good for cold pasta dishes, it becomes very tough! But for hot pasta, go for it. Even Trader Joe's is now offering Brown Rice Pasta in a variety of shapes.

For the quick and creamy sauce, first I made a roux. Yes a roux can easily be made vegan! A roux is a combination of butter and flour traditionally used as a thickener to start off a sauce. I used earth balance and whole wheat pastry flour to start mine. You use equal parts of both ( I used 2 tablespoons of each). You put the roux in a sauce pan over medium low, and stir it frequently until it starts to brown a bit. At that point you build your sauce. I added vegetable broth and unsweetened almond milk, nutritional yeast, a touch of fresh nutmeg, and salt. I like to eyeball these ingredients, start out slow because you can always add liquid, but you can't take it out! You need to whisk constantly as you add these ingredients, and the roux will thicken it as it heats up. Once you reach the desired consistency and taste, you remove from the heat. You want to leave it a little bit thin so it can spread over the pasta well- if it's too thick it is not very palatable on the pasta. The resulting sauce is golden brown and deliciously flavorful.

To bring the pasta together, I added the cooked pasta to my skillet of swiss chard and veggie sausage, threw in the squash cubes, and finally tossed it gently with the creamy sauce. I like to top mine off with a touch of red pepper flakes for a bit of heat, but that is up to you!