Cheesy Butternut Ham Pasta

On a cold winter’s day, a bowl of creamy pasta can warm you up down to the core. Yet, there are healthier  ways to achieve this beyond using heavy cream. Butternut squash, cooked in broth then puréed and added to brown rice pasta with some cheese and ham tastes decadent and rich, with a heavy dose of fiber, antioxidants and vitamins A and C (minus the large amount of saturated fat that comes with cream). Aged cheeses are one of my top flavor tips because just a little bit adds a lot of flavor, I find that with lighter tasting cheeses like mozzarella you really need to load it on for it to have much impact, and doing that regularly isn’t great for the waistline or heart health; I used extra aged cheddar but a sharp parmesan or any other favorite type works. For the ham, I just used some leftovers from Christmas feasting, and ham steak is much better than deli ham (the texture can be kind of slimy and it is usually full of nitrates and nitrites, types of particularly damaging preservatives) but good quality bacon or prosciutto (watch out for nitrates and nitrites in lower quality options) would compliment the sweet butternut squash well too.

Cheesy Butternut Ham Pasta
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS:
  • 3 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped finely (makes around 3-4 cups)
  • 1 454 g bag of brown rice pasta (I used penne here but any style made with any type of whole grains works)
  • 1 cup ham, chopped
  • ¼ cup aged cheddar cheese
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped finely
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil
  • Optional topping: 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Place the olive oil in a large skillet or medium sized pot on the stove over medium high heat. Once the oil has warmed up add in the onion and garlic and sautée for 4-5 minutes, until softened and fragrant. Add in the butternut squash and broth, leave on medium high heat and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
  2. When there are around 20 minutes left bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat then add in the pasta, cook according to package directions and then drain.
  3. Once the squash is done use an immersion or regular blender to blend it until it becomes smooth. Stir in the cheese then add in to the cooked pasta and ham in a large bowl. Give it a final taste test, there should be enough salt from the broth and ham but if not add in a little bit now. Serve steaming hot.

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