This meat-free recipe is silky, smooth and luxurious thanks to the creamy addition of pureed butternut pumpkin (or butternut squash, depending on where you live!). It’s an easy noodle dinner that is so simple, yet so satisfying. And that hit of miso really does work wonders! Udon noodles bring the bounce, but you could also try this with linguine or spaghetti for a plant-based fusion pasta meal.
WATCH THIS RECIPE
Creamy Butternut Pumpkin Udon Noodles
PREP TIME
10 minutes
COOK TIME
1 hour
SERVES
4
Ingredients
300g (10.5 oz) butternut pumpkin, diced
½ bulb garlic
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
1 tbsp miso paste
¾ cups chicken stock
3 x 200g (7 oz) packs of precooked udon noodles
25g (1 oz) unsalted butter
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 tsp shichimi togarashi* (optional)
Steps
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Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F.
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Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the butternut pumpkin and garlic on the tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and season generously with salt. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 45 minutes or until soft and cooked through. Allow to cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil.
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Squeeze the roasted garlic into a blender. Add the pumpkin, miso paste and chicken stock, then blend until smooth. Transfer the puree to a large pan.
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Add the udon noodles to the boiling water and use tongs to gently separate the noodles. As soon as the noodles have separated, use tongs to transfer them into the pumpkin puree.
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Turn the heat to medium and toss the noodles through the puree. Add the butter, parmesan and 2 tablespoons of the parsley and toss until the butter melts and everything is glossy and thick. Divide among serving bowls and top with extra parmesan, the remaining parsley and shichimi togarashi, if using.
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Notes:
– Shichimi togarashi is a Japanese spice blend that contains (among other things) sansho pepper, chilli powder, sesame seeds, nori and dried orange peel. It’s available from Asian supermarkets.
What is butternut pumpkin?
Butternut pumpkin (as it’s known in Australia) is also referred to as butternut squash in countries such as the UK and the US. It is a pear-shaped winter squash that grows on a vine, and has a golden-brown skin and a deep-orange flesh that tastes sweet and slightly nutty, which can make it a substantial meat-free alternative. While the skin is quite thin and fine to eat, most people prefer not to. To prepare butternut pumpkin, it should be peeled and the seeds removed (they are located in the bulbous end of the butternut pumpkin).
How do you cook butternut pumpkin?
The most common way of cooking butternut pumpkin is by roasting it until it is lovely and soft. However, it can also be steamed or simmered. When made into a puree, it has a silky smooth texture, making it ideal to use for noodle recipes for sauces, pasta recipes for fillings such as ravioli, in pies or served as a side dish, a bit like you would with mashed potatoes.
Absolutely delicious!
I made this for 4 of us this evening, it ended up being a little on the small siee, so I will add a 4th packet of udon noodles next time, and probably top with a protein to help it go a bit further. But otherwise it was so delicious!!
Full of flavour and super easy!
This recipe has been tantalising me for weeks. I’ve finally gotten around to making it tonight and it didn’t disappoint. I was sceptical that my fussy toddler would even try it, however I needn’t to have been. He ate a good bowl full declaring he liked it.
Made it with vegan Parmesan and vegan butter. Also didn’t have the special seasoning which I know would have been great, so just added some chilli flakes.
Thanks so much Marion