A busy girl’s weeknight dinner: butternut squash noodles tossed with cashew cream sauce on a pile of steamed lentils and topped with chili-spiced pistachios. A delicious, gluten free and dairy free meal — on your table in minutes.
This dish is as simple as you can get — while still looking like a rockstar in the kitchen. Butternut squash noodles are my version of a pantry meal. Leftover cashew cream sauce from last week. Leftover TJ’s steamed lentils. Bibb lettuce courtesy of a Costco 4-pack. And pistachios…a pantry staple!
These chili-spiced pistachios are a great way to fancify a dish. Just throw them in a bowl, sprinkle with some chili powder and toss with a little bit of really good, tasty olive oil. I use these all the time to add some oomph to a bowl of veggies, salads, grains and pasta. Any nut, seed or spice will work! You can also get fancy with different types of oils, like truffle or avocado oil.
The noodles are super easy to make, too. No fancy spiralizer needed. A regular vegetable peeler created these long strands of noodles. The size and shape of your butternut will be what predicts the length of your noodles. You can also spiralize your sqaush if you have one. Once you’ve shaved off enough noodles, cut up the leftover squash and roast it for another meal.
I tossed these noodles raw with my cashew sauce. If you want a warmer dish, heat the noodles, not the sauce. It doesn’t heat well. To heat, just add the noodles to a warm pan with a little olive oil and then toss with the sauce. So the next time you’re pressed for time, remember that this healthy, delicious easy to make dish is just a few minutes away!
Butternut Squash “Noodles” with Lentils & Pistachios
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups butternut squash peeled
- 1 cup cooked lentils I use Trader Joe's steamed lentils
- 2 Tbsp shelled pistachios
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp good extra virgin olive oil or truffle oil
- 2 leaves Boston Bibb lettuce
For the Cashew Cream
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked for 20 minutes or overnight
- ¼ cup hemp seeds
- ¼ cup water
- 1 very small garlic clove minced
- 1 Tbsp miso paste
- 1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Dash sea salt to taste
- 2-3 fresh sage leaves chopped
- few drops liquid stevia optional
Instructions
- Blend cashew cream sauce ingredients in a blender until well combined and set aside. Place pistachios, chili powder, and olive oil in a small bowl, mix well and set aside. Using a vegetable peeler, peel butternut squash into noodles. To heat noodles, warm in a pan with a little olive oil. Remove from heat and toss with a tablespoon or so of cashew cream (you can also toss noodles raw with the warm cashew cream from the blender). Heat lentils and place on top of a few leaves of Bibb lettuce. Top lentils with squash noodles and sprinkle on pistachios.
