Meatless Monday: Fall Pasta Primavera

It's been a while since I did anything special for Meatless Monday, so tonight I thought I'd step it up a notch and make this one a follow-along tutorial. Tonight, I made tri-colored pasta primavera with fall vegetables. Generally speaking, primavera is all about spring veggies, but it's Autumn so I thought I would give it a little fall twist. I found an acorn squash at the market today, and I knew it would be perfect.

Most  primavera recipes call for chicken broth to form the body of the sauce, but since this is a Meatless Monday selection, I opted to use vegetable broth instead, and it worked out just as nicely.

Fall Pasta Primavera
Makes 4 servings

What You'll Need:
    2 cups dried pasta of your choice
    1 acorn squash
    1 zucchini
    1/2 butternut squash (I cheated and used pre-cut)
    1/2 can vegetable broth
    3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
    2 garlic cloves, minced
    2 Tbs minced dried shallots
    1 Tbs crushed sage
    1 Tbs crushed rosemary
    1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    Cracked pepper and sea salt to taste

That basil? Pretend it's sage. I grabbed the wrong one for the photo.

The Process:

Heat your oven up to 400° F. Cut your acorn squash and your 1/2 butternut squash in half.

Scoop out seeds and slice them into wedges. Coat the wedges with some olive oil and then roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes, turning them over halfway through. Let them cool a bit, then peel off the skin and cut them into bite sized pieces.

Because I cheated, I peeled and cubed them all before roasting them so they'd cook evenly. I don't recommend peeling the cubes, it's a pain in the butt. Peeling the wedges is easier, and you could always slice them with a knife. You want a total of 4 cups of cubed squash, 2 cups of each. You're probably going to have some extras. I'm going to come up with a recipe soon for these extras.

Meanwhile, set your salted pasta water on to boil and slice up your zucchini into bite-sized pieces (I used my fancy new mandolin slicer that we got as a wedding gift).

Cook your pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain when finished and return to hot pan.

While the pasta cooks, sauté your zucchini, garlic, and shallots in a pan with a little olive oil. Cook for 2-3, then add your cubed squashes, sage, and rosemary. Cook another few minutes until all the veggies are tender.

 Add the broth, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper and let cook together for 5 minutes. Toss with pasta until well coated, add some cheese on top, and serve immediately.