Butternut Squash Sauce

I am becoming a big fan of using more plant based only food in cooking. I still eat dairy and some meat but I really like using only plant based foods in my cooking. I love the way plant based cooks have embraced using plants and nuts and seeds to add thick lusciousness to dishes without using cream or cheese. I’m trying to learn how to incorporate more of that into my daily cooking.

I made some tortellini and Brussels sprouts and this butternut squash sauce. It looks pretty decadent doesn’t it?

Cashews and butternut squash make this sauce really creamy and satisfying but not heavy. The only time consuming part of this recipe is to soak some cashews and roast some squash.

1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked in water at least 4-6 hours or as long as overnight
2 cups roasted butternut squash
3/4 cup water
2 garlic cloves
2-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1-2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice start with 1 and taste if you need more
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
hot sauce, to taste

Put everything in a blender and give it a spin for about 2-3 minutes.

Now taste it and see if it needs more lemon or salt or if you want, hot sauce. Add that now and taste again. Some butternut squash are sweeter than others. The lemon and hot sauce tone the sweetness down as does the nutritional yeast. Taste taste taste.

This is great with pasta or roasted vegetables.

I like to make a puddle of sauce on a plate and put my food around it so I can run my food through the sauce. I feel it’s not as gloppy as putting the sauce directly on the food, it’s more appetizing (to me at least).