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Spelt Spaghetti with Butternut Squash and Pesto
Spelt Spaghetti with Butternut Squash and Pesto
Here we are a week after Thanksgiving and I am hard at work in the kitchen dreaming up lighter, healthier meals for in between holiday extravagances. I’ve been testing several ways to use spelt pasta, and spelt flour since Nature’s Legacy sent me a box of their products to try out. Thus far I am very happy with their spelt products and the recipe development using spelt in my kitchen.
Today I cooked up a dish that came to me last night wondering what would be the best type of dish for this time of year. I wanted something hot and satisfying, but vegetarian.
This dish came out great in testing today and I am happy to share it with you in the hopes that you will give spelt a try.
Why, you might ask should you give spelt a try? Well, for one reason it taste great. For another reason it’s all natural, and not-been-messed-with like its cousin wheat has been. Spelt is non-GMO, high in fiber and vitamins too. More and more people are searching out simple natural foods to add to their diet and spelt is gaining in popularity.
So try one or more of my spelt recipes, and see what you think. To help you try out spelt Nature’s Legacy is giving one of my lucky readers a box of spelt products.
Just leave a comment on this post what your favorite pasta dish is and you will be entered in this drawing. I’ll draw the winner soon and let you know who the lucky person is on my Facebook fan page. Due to shipping costs the winner must take delivery in the US.
Included in the box is:
1 5 lb bag 100% whole grain spelt flour
4 boxes whole spelt rotini
4 boxes whole spelt spaghetti
2 boxes whole spelt lasagna
Spelt Spaghetti with Butternut Squash and Pesto
1 ten ounce package of Nature’s Legacy spelt spaghetti
4 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup pesto
2 1/2 cups butternut squash cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
1 cup roasted walnuts(optional)
salt and pepper to taste
the goods
Heat water in a 5 quart pot with a tablespoon of salt.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
mix in the pesto, parsley and walnuts
Toss butternut squash, salt and pepper with olive oil in a bowl and mix to coat. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
Cook spelt spaghetti according to instructions on package fifteen minutes after the squash goes in the oven, see note*
Drain and rinse spaghetti and put in a large bowl.
Add pesto, walnuts and parsley and toss well.
By now your squash should be tender but not mushy. Put hot squash in with spaghetti and mix well.
mix the hot squash in
Serve with a garnish of steamed broccoli, and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Serves 4-6
Note*
The package says it takes 4-6 minutes to cook the spaghetti in boiling water, but I had to cook it about 8 minutes and it wasn’t overcooked.
I made a basic pesto from a recipe on the Food Network’s website that turned out very well, and only took ten minutes. You can buy or make your own pesto for this dish. Here’s the link for the recipe I used:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/basic-pesto-recipe/index.html
Even though I was gifted a box of products from Nature’s Legacy it didn’t influence my opinion.
spelt products from Nature’s Legacy
I’m going to have to give spelt spaghetti a try after reading this!! Sounds perfect paired with the butternut squash!
Thanks for your comment, and hope you like the spelt spaghetti as musch as I do!
I make a sort of mexican lasagne that I am quite fond of
Pesto chicken with linguini is quite delicious too
Sounds good to me as long as it’s spicy Mexican lasagne!
Is this the same kind of noodle Mary and I had over the summer in a dish you made? It was very good!
That was an Asian inspired cold soba noodle salad if memory serves me? This is a hot dish and not spicy hot.
I love Pad Thai. I am getting curious about the Paleo diet so grains are not encouraged. Is spelt “allowed” with Paleo diets?
I’m no expert on paleo diets, but spelt is still a grain so it probably isn’t allowed. It will be curious to see if the Paleo diet stands the test of time. In my experience with many a diet plan they all have one thing in common, and that very few of them thrive more than a year or two. Those that do last more than a couple of years like the Atkins diet are extremely difficult to stay on the plan.
Spelt pasta and flour is something I enjoy cooking with! I haven’t had butternut squash with pesto before! I’m sure it will be a great combo! The dish probably won’t last long in my house!
Glad to hear you have already been using spelt flour and pasta. I hope you get a chance to try this recipe.
This dish looks delicious! I love pasta dishes but have been avoiding them as of late because I am trying to cut down on wheat products. Does spelt come in all forms of pasta? My family is big on making Manicot (stuffed shells) around the holidays and it would be interesting to try a more health-conscious alternative
Thanks for your nice comment! I have used spelt in lasagne, rotini, angel hair, elbow macaroni and spaghetti, but there are probably more types out there. Here’s a link to Nature’s Legacy products page: https://www.natureslegacyforlife.com/products/
I hope you get a chance to give this recipe a try. You might find that spelt is a better product than wheat, both in taste, digestion and nutrition.
My favorite pasta dish is salmon stuffed ravioli in a mushroom sauce but I also like smoked salmon with crushed hazelnuts in a white sauce over spaghetti. One I cook for myself that is tasty is baked spaghetti. I fill a pie tin with cooked ground meat, chopped carrots, onions, chunky tomato sauce and spices over cooked spaghetti. I sprinkle a little parmesan over the top and then cover with slabs of fontina, monterrey jack, or other cheese and broil it until the cheese browns a bit. Nero d’Avola here I come!
Wow, that’s some favorite pasta duo. Both sound good and I would like to try the Nero d’Avola with it! Thanks for sharing.
Wow..those pictures look great Kurt! Good job! I love rice pasta since I’m gluten-free. When I was a kid, wagon wheels and butter was the bomb!
Thanks Philly, and yes childhood memories of pasta are imbedded in most of us. My favorite childhood pasta was lasagne.
This dish sounds great but my favorite pasta is Tortellini with carbonara sauce. You know this sauce, don’t you? And the best thing is that you can fill the tortellini with meat or vegetables (Whatever you want) and the sauce provides a smooth texture. It’s true that you can do tortellini with different sauce like tomato with some onion but I prefer carbonara sauce to the other one. Anyway, I will try to make this dish and I hope it has as good looking as this one!
Thanks for your comment Laura. Yes I do know carbonara sauce and believe it goes well with tortellini. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.
Sounds great! I’ll find the time to try it one of these days, hopefully soon!
If you win the box of spelt products it will be sooner than later!
The pasta dish sounds wonderful and great pictures. Being gluten free I like a rice spaghetti. All the pasta dishes you make have been great. Love your recipes.
Thanks Linda. It’s a good thing there are wheat substitutes, we all need pasta!
Sounds wonderful! My favorite pasta is Portabello and fontina cheese ravioli by Nuovo
Sounds good to me. I love all of the frozen ravioli that I have tried from The Woodlands at Phillip’s Mushrooms! I usually just top them with a simple marinara sauce.
The spelt spaghetti dish looks absolutely delicious! I especially love butternut squash. I can’t wait to try this recipe. As for me, I love all kinds of pasta. Spaghetti always works for my family when I’ve cooked up a good tomato sauce with green peppers and tomatoes straight out of the garden. Of course, I love all kinds of baked pasta, too! I’m totally game for trying the spelt pasta since my husband and I have been trying to eat more healthy. Thanks for sharing this one.
You are welcome Lauren, and you can’t go wrong with a good spaghetti dish.
YUM!! Your pasta dish sounds great Kurt. I will have to give it a try. i have never had spelt before.My favorite pasta is Linguini with white clam sauce with lots of fresh clams.
Thanks Sharon. Linguni with clam sauce is my wife’s favorite pasta dish too.
My favorite pasta dish is chicken parmesan. I played a lot of soccer as a kid and used to eat it before every game!
I love finding new ways to eat healthy and improve my health, will have to try this spelt pasta recipe!
Chris
Thanks Chris.
My favorite pasta dish is chicken parmesan, but a close second is spaghetti with marinara sauce and spicy Italian sausage. I plan to try the spelt recipe soon!
Thanks Scott!
Wow this sounds yummy. Butternut squash and pesto nice combo. Never tried spelt, but willing to try. Favorite pasta Carbonara
Try it, you will like it!