Butternut, Spinach and Caramelized Onion Pasta

This pasta dish turned out to be just lovely.

It started off with me having some fresh spinach and not knowing what to do with it.
Then I remembered something which I saw on pinterest (you just gotta love pinterest!)
It was a lasagna with squash, onions and spinach.
Since I did not have most of the ingredients, I improvised.

My recipe below is for one very hungry person, but can easily be adapted for more.

I roasted a medium sized butternut, while at the same time caramelizing one onion. The idea was that they should be done within 40 minutes and the timing worked out well.
Halfway through cooking the onion I added half a clove of crushed garlic.
Oh the smell... it was mouthwatering.
I cooked my spaghetti (100grams) and also sauteed two big hands full of spinach.
When everything was done I used about half the butternut and saved the rest for another day.
Then I poured 100gram demi creme fraiche onto the spaghetti, mixing it well and to this I added the onions, butternut and spinach.
Lastly I grated Parmesan cheese over the pasta.
Yum.

Butternut Curry

I finally decided to use the butternut patiently waiting in the vegetable drawer.

First I thought of making a butternut soup but then as I walked to the kitchen a curry seemed like a great idea... except that I didn't really have all the required ingredients.

But I like to improvise, how wrong could it go?
Not at all as it turned out!

So, the big problem was that I had no curry paste. I've seen lots of cooking shows where they whip up a curry so I decided to just make it up. Yes, just make it up!

I heated up a tablespoon of vegetable oil and added two cloves minced garlic. To this I then added a tablespoon curry powder, a dash of dried ginger, some cayenne pepper, salt, a tablespoon sugar and some cumin. As the ingredients were heating up, a lovely spicy smell filled the kitchen. I kept stirring and a paste formed within a couple of minutes.

I added some hot water to the pan and let it simmer. Then it was time to pour in the coconut milk. I had a little 250ml box of Thai coconut milk and into the mixture it went, smooth and creamy. I left it to simmer while I prepared the rest of the ingredients. (note to reader - I suggest you use preprepared curry paste!)

The butternut had to be peeled and diced, then I sliced a courgette and an onion. Prep work done.

Next I heated up a tablespoon of vegetable oil in my wok. I added the vegetables and stir fried them for 5 minutes. Then I poured in the curry sauce and let it all simmer for about 20 minutes. This was enough to cook the butternut.

Of course you mustn't forget about the rice! Once the vegetables were simmering away, I cooked my basmati rice as per the package instructions. It was going to take 18 minutes in total. Seemed like perfect timing to me.

At the last minute I decided to serve some vegetarian fillets with the curry - I quickly pan fried them and just piled them on top of the curry.

It was a surprisingly delicious curry, and one I will definitely make again.