Wide Noodles With Hokkaidō Pumpkin Sauce

Hokkaidō pumpkin, also known as red kuri squash. Kuri means chestnut in Japanese and this pumpkin has a chestnut taste and texture. In the UK we call it onion squash I guess more because of it’s shape than it’s taste.

I decided to use this pumpkin to make a sauce to go with some wide noodles that I had bought. They are brown rice noodles by Clearspring but you could easily use tagliatelle.

First I made the sauce, I used half a pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and chop into chunks and slice off the skin.
Finely dice 1/2 an onion and sauté in a little coconut or olive oil until tender.

Add the pumpkin to the pan with the onions and add enough water to cover and bring to a simmer. Then add half a stock cube and stir in to dissolve. Cover the pan and leave on a simmer until the pumpkin is tender and falls apart.

Then add a teaspoon of white miso paste and dissolve it in. Stir in about a one – two tablespoons of soy cream and two tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Use a hand blender to blend the sauce until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The noodles I used did not require cooking you just soak them for 30 minutes in boiling water. Either do this or cook your desired pasta or noodles. When they are ready stir in your sauce.

This simple sauce is so tasty you could also use this with more of a fusilli pasta and bake it like a mac and cheese if you wish with some grated vegan cheese on top.

I also added some blanched broccoli, chopped parsley and a scatter of chilli flakes, and served it with salad, for a filling comforting meal.