Delicata squash and feta pasta

I love to pair pantry staples and in-season produce to make use of what’s fresh and abundant, and my savory pasta recipe is so satisfying. I admit that it doesn’t look like much — but trust me, the flavors and textures of the simple ingredients are heaven in a bite. Toasted pine nuts with tangy feta cheese, sautéed delicata and zucchini squash, onions, garlic and oregano meld together to make a gourmet-tasting weeknight dinner.

You can choose your pasta shape — just use something small like penne or rotini.

I like this as a main dish because it is chock-full of vegetables and very filling, but you can also serve it as a side dish.

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The base of the recipe is vegan, so you can choose either vegan or dairy feta cheese. This recipe also happens to be Mediterranean Diet compliant.

Ingredients
Serves 2-3 as a main course, or 4-6 as a side dish

1 pound small pasta shapes, cooked per instructions on package
4-8 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 delicata squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 cups zucchini, cut into 1-inch chunks
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon coarse black pepper or red pepper flakes
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
3-4 tablespoons hot cooking water from the pasta pot
1 ½-2 cups crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. It takes about the same amount of time to boil the water and cook that as it does to chop and sauté the vegetables, so put the pot of water on to boil and then move on to dice the onion.

When the onion is prepared, place a wide sauté pan over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Allow the oil to warm for 1-2 minutes before adding the onions, stirring them until they are well coated in the olive oil. Sauté for 10-12 minutes, or until the onions start to turn translucent.
As the onions are cooking, peel the squash using a vegetable peeler before slicing it lengthwise down the middle. The skin on delicata squash is almost always soft, so don’t worry about the skin that the peeler won’t reach.

Scrape the seeds from the squash using a spoon, and chop the squash into pieces that are about 1 inch wide.

Add the squash to the onions with an additional 2 tablespoons of oil, stir well and keep stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.

Chop the zucchini as the delicata squash is cooking and add it to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally until the delicata squash is fork-tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Make a well in the center of the pot and add the minced garlic to the open space with another tablespoon of olive oil. Stir well for 30 seconds before stirring the garlic into the vegetables.

Stir in the oregano, salt and pepper and allow to cook for another minute, then add 3-4 tablespoons of hot water from the pasta pot to the vegetables.

Scrape the bottom and the sides of the pan to get all of the flavorful bits mixed into the squash. Turn the heat down and simmer the squash for a few more minutes.

Lightly toast the pine nuts in a pan over low heat. Don’t leave them alone; stand by and continually stir them. When they are toasted, pour them into another dish because they will keep cooking and burn if left in the pan.

If the pasta is finished before the squash, drain it and put a lid on the pot until the vegetables are ready.

The olive oil is what makes the sauce for this pasta. If you think it needs a little bit more, then feel free to add it to the pasta.

Mix half of the vegetable mixture into the pasta.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Put the pasta into an ovenproof dish.

Add the remaining half of the squash over top of the pasta.

Add the cheese and broil on high for 4-5 minutes to get the feta to melt and brown a bit.
This step really brings out the flavor in the cheese. (I have not yet broiled vegan feta and I’d love to hear if you’ve had a good experience doing so.)

Remove the dish from the oven, sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and serve immediately.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.