Our driver brought back some freshly harvested kalabasa over the weekend and we’ve made two kinds of pasta with it already. I tweaked a few recipes I found online (here and here) so I could use the vegetables in our crisper. My dad loved (and finished) the first batch so I whipped up another one today, adding broccoli and bacon into the mix.
I liked how the kalabasa turned out after popping it in the toaster on a baking pan with some EVOO and a mix of herbs the first time, so I did the same for this batch. I roasted mine for about 15 minutes but it could take longer depending on your oven. Confession #1: since I was following a recipe online, I didn’t realize 40-50 minutes was way too long so my kalabasa burned a bit the first time I tried. Whoops!
You can omit the bacon (or swap it with your choice of meat/fat) completely and make it vegetarian but I sneaked in a few pieces as a Friday treat for my dad. I also didn’t cook the pasta in the pan where I was cooking the vegetables. I cooked it separately and added it right before mixing in the cream.
I realize that when it comes to cooking (unlike baking), you can really play around with recipe (read: not follow every single thing or use exactly the same ingredients) and not end up with something inedible. Confession #2: For this recipe, I forgot to add the garlic and thyme until after I already poured in the water. I added them anyway and it still turned out great!
Here’s the recipe if you want to try it yourself!
Roasted Kalabasa Spaghetti With Broccoli, Spinach, and Bacon
A yummy and healthy way to enjoy pasta!
Ingredients
- water
- 400 grams spaghetti noodles
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 white onion halved and sliced
- 4 strips honeycured bacon chopped
- 2 cups kalabasa chopped and roasted in EVOO and herbs
- 1 tbps garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bouillon chicken cube dissolved in 1 cup water
- 2 cups water
- 1 head broccoli cut into bite-sized florets
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/4 cup all-purpose cream
- pepper to taste
- parmesan for serving
- pecans optional
Instructions
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Bring water with a few teaspoons of salt to a boil and cook spaghetti noodles as instructed in the packaging.
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In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat and toss in onions, bacon. Once onions have softened, add the roasted kalabasa, garlic, and thyme. Give it a stir before adding the dissolved chicken cube and water. Bring to a boil then lower heat. Simmer for 10 minutes*.
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Add broccoli and spinach. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has thickened, add in your pasta and the cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to your serving dish and top with parmesan. For the first batch I did, I pulsed a handful of pecans in the blender and added it to the pasta before serving.
Recipe Notes
* you can actually cook your noodles after your sauce boils so that it’s already cooked by the time you have to mix everything together.
What’s your favorite way to cook kalabasa? I still have half in the fridge and we’re thinking of what to do with it next.
