Baked Savory Pumpkin Pasta
This is recipe is an all around luteal-phase-winner, and my go to when I am yearning for some comfort food. For your friends skeptical of vegan meals, have them try this! It is that good.
In my recipes, you will notice that I don’t provide super explicit measurement guidance. I am a big believer in portioning based on what feels right for you, and learning to experiment with your cooking. I don’t measure out spices for example - I season and taste as I go. It has helped me build my cooking confidence, and it will for you too!
Serving Size: 4+ leftovers
Total Cook Time: 1 hour
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: ~30 - 40 min
Ingredients
2 boxes Banza Rotini pasta
2 cans pumpkin puree
1 lb mushrooms (~4 cups, sliced), crimini and shiitake mix
Beyond Meat meatballs
2 hearty handfuls of spinach
Vegetable broth, 1 cup
Mykonos vegan mozzarella
Violife vegan parmesan
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Garlic
Pinch of salt & pepper
Olive oil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Thinly slice all your mushrooms (mixture of crimini and shiitake) and add to a deep pot. Drizzle with olive oil and garlic and sauté with until the mushrooms are browning, about 10 -12 minutes.
While the mushrooms are cooking, cook the Banza rotini pasta according to package instructions. When the noodles are done cooking, strain them and run cold water overtop to stop them from continuing to cook and getting mushy.
In the meantime, prepare your other ingredients. Take your Beyond Meat meatballs and either chop them up into smaller pieces or crumble them up with your hands. Cut up 1/2 of the Mykonos vegan mozzarella into tiny pieces and shred 1/2 the Violife vegan parmesan block.
Once the mushrooms are a couple minutes from being done, add the Beyond Meat meatballs crumbles in and cook for about 5 minutes. You may want to add in a bit more olive oil and some more garlic.
When the mushrooms and meatballs are done and in the 2 cans of pumpkin puree, 1 cup of vegetable broth, and 2 big handfuls of spinach. As the spinach wilts, add in equal parts nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir thoroughly. I prefer to season quite a bit with nutmeg & cinnamon, but that is personal preference! Add more vegetable broth as needed.
While the spinach is wilting, add the chopped up vegan mozzarella pieces into the pumpkin and veggies mix. Stir thoroughly. Tip: I like to smush the vegan mozzarella piece with whatever spoon/spatula you are stirring with so that it melts fully into the pumpkin mix.
Once everything is thoroughly mixed, add the noodles into the pumpkin mix. Stir thoroughly - gently as to not destroy the noodles, but enough that they are fully covered in the pumpkin mix.
Then transfer everything to a large, oven-safe glass dish. Top with the shredded parmesan, leaving some on the side to top freshly when the pasta is done. Bake the pasta in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the top parmesan and noodles are a bit crispy.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool a couple minutes, top with a pinch of fresh parmesan if desired and serve!
Eating with your cycle is an empowering way to reclaim your health and food freedom, and I hope this recipe takes you one step farther on that journey.
