Gluten Free Pasta with Pumpkin-Coconut Sauce and Kale
I rarely use canned foods, but there are certain items that come with no reasonable alternative, items such as coconut milk and pumpkin puree. Sure I could make them at home, but when I want a quick meal, pumpkin roasting, peeling, seeding, pureeing and straining is not an option. But, what am I to do when I don’t need to use the whole can?
Typically, this is what happens. After using what I need, I transfer the remaining 90% of the can into a mason jar and stick it in the fridge. At this point, it inevitably gets lost in the far reaches of the top shelf only to be re-found a month or two later with a lovely patch of penicillin right on top. I hate wasting so many wonderful organic products, but, seriously, how much tomato paste can one use in a week? Those cans should should be an ounce or two MAX, but I digress…
Most of my woes have been averted since I discovered tomato paste in a tube, but last night I made some Vegan Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream (We’ll have to get to that some other time. All I have to say is, O.M.G.), and I only used half a can of pumpkin puree. I originally had planned to make this for dinner last night, but I was kinda curried-out after having Indian food for lunch. And, then I started thinking about all those odds and ends I had floating around in the fridge and the cupboard: that half can of pumpkin, that other half can of coconut milk, those last few kale leaves, a quarter bag of my favorite rice pasta, a small square of goat gouda, and some fresh thyme.
Throwing it all together into one yummy dish was a great way to use up all those random bits and pieces of goodness. I found that this sauce was fantastic, super simple, and super quick and would ultimately be a great base to expand upon. I’m thinking in the future I may add roasted green chilies and use Mexican spices like cumin and chili powder instead of thyme and sage. Or, one could possibly adapt this to be more of a Thai dish by using some lemongrass, peanut butter, lime and tamari.
If you decide to adapt this, keep the base of onions, garlic, pumpkin and coconut milk and then experiment away! But, be sure to leave me a comment to let me know what you did and how it turned out.
Who knows, I may just have a special prize for my favorite commenter…
GLUTEN FREE PASTA WITH PUMPKIN-COCONUT MILK SAUCE AND KALE
serves 2 hungry folks
For the Sauce:
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. minced yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup shredded goat gouda cheese
1 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
1 tsp. dried sage
salt and pepper, to taste
For the Kale:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
5 kale leaves, sliced into thin ribbons
salt and crushed red pepper, to taste
1/4 pkg. Tinkyada Penna, Fusilli, or Spiral Pasta, cooked according to pkg. instructions
chopped hazelnuts, for garnish
1. For the Sauce: Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes or until very soft. Stir in the pumpkin and just heat it through. Slowly add in the coconut milk and stir until you’ve got a nice, thick, smooth sauce. Add the goat gouda, herbs, salt and pepper and reduce heat to low. Cover the pan and keep warm while making the kale.
2. For the Kale: In a saute pan, heat the oil over high heat. Saute the garlic until it just starts to brown and add the kale. Season with a bit of salt and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until the kale is wilted, but still bright green, about 3-5 minutes.
3. To Complete the Dish: Stir the kale into the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the cooked noodles and garnish with chopped hazelnuts.
Other Savory Pumpkin and Winter Squash Dishes to Check Out:
Vegan Pumpkin Tortilla Soup at The Kitchn
Warm Pumpkin Salad with Polenta and Candied Pumpkin Seeds at Epicurious
Spicy Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce at MarthaStewart.com
Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus and Pumpkin Tofu Scramble at HaveCakeWillTravel
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Sorry, Megan. You were absolutely right. I didn’t include the goat gouda in the instructions. I’ve adjusted the instructions to include adding the cheese, but as a vegan, you can most definitely leave it out. However, you might want to play with the amount of coconut milk and salt you add to make up for the loss of cheese.
Let me know how it goes. Enjoy!
I am a bit confused by this recipe. The ingredients include goat’s milk gouda, but I can’t see where in the steps you add it. I am vegan so I was hoping I could omit it but I can’t even see in your steps where you’ve added it to know if it is an integral part of the recipe. Can u let me know? Maybe I am just blind. Thanks!