Fall Harvest Pasta – A Rainbow Treat!

Hello, vegetarian carnivores! As you all know, I started an Autumn 2018 series at the beginning of this month in order to explore and showcase the wonderful dishes (both savory and sweet) that you can make with seasonal vegetables. I made a ravioli with pumpkin cream sauce, which received overwhelmingly positive feedback in all forms of social media, so I knew I had to release another recipe as soon as possible. If you have not checked out that recipe, click right here because it turned out beautifully and I would love to see pictures of your pumpkin sauce ravioli! I very recently (literally yesterday!) made this fall harvest pasta, which I am about to share with you guys right now and again received such a mass outpouring of interest and support from the pictures and requests for the recipe that I am absolutely honored. You have all been requesting such wonderful and delicious fall themed recipes and I will make sure to include them in this series!

Sweet or savory?

Now if you don’t know this about me already, I am a spicy and savory kind of gal. That is the reason that I cook so much pasta and if you have checked out my vegetarian chicken tenders or spaghetti bolognese recipe, it is obvious from the amount of chili flakes I *dump* onto my dish that I definitely have a tongue for spice.

That being said, I also love switching things up, especially during the fall and winter months, when homemade desserts, pies, cakes, etc reign supreme. Cooking and baking sweet dishes helps me control the amount of sweetness that goes in, and if you check out my sweet treats you will see that I put minimal sugar to avoid that kind of “cloyingly sweet” sensation, which I cannot stand. I guess that is why I am wary of eating desserts outside.

The stars of today’s show…

Pasta is traditionally a savory dish. You’ve got salt, pepper, chili flakes, cheese, maybe some heavy cream or tomatoes. But what if you could introduce a hint of sweet into the savory dish?

And that is exactly what I did. I added yams to this pasta dish. Not a lot – literally just enough to pop up in a bite and surprise your taste buds! And because it is fall, yams are so easy to come by, but if you are having a hard time finding them, you could use sweet potatoes instead. I used canned yams in this recipe and if you look on the ingredients label, you’ve got yams, water, and sugar. This is not a great thing for this recipe because we don’t want syrupy water. But it is really easy to fix. I drained the yams out and doubled rinsed them to make sure the sugar water was gone, and then I soaked the yams in warm water until just ready to cook. I found that this really helped eliminate unwanted sugar.

And I didn’t stop there! I also added Brussels sprouts and sauteed them until they were gorgeous and golden brown and reduced in a generous heap of mushrooms. Nothing screams fall like a hearty dish with Brussels sprouts and mushrooms, does it? 😉

Because of the whole slew of vegetables, I did not want to add marinara sauce because that tends to drown out the unique flavors of any vegetables you add in pasta. So you will find a very simple butter pasta sauce. It is barely there, so you can enjoy the vegetables! This dish is also easily vegan friendly because you only have one substitute to consider.

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

1. 2 cups shell or any short pasta, uncooked
2. 2 tbs butter, cold (or vegan substitute!)
3. 4 tbs olive oil, for sauteing and drizzling in the end
4. 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
5. 5-7 Brussels sprout balls, quartered
6. 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
7. 1/2 cup yams, chopped
8. 1/2 cup frozen green peas
9. Italian seasoning
10. Salt, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot, boil salted water and cook your pasta according to instructions.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, add 2 tbs olive oil and butter and melt.
3. Add in minced garlic and saute for one minute until fragrant.
4. Add in your Brussels sprouts and saute for 5-7 minutes. Make sure all pieces are coated in the garlic/butter/oil mixture. You want to make sure that the flat sides really get nice and golden brown and for the base flavor to really sink in fully. Keep turning them until you get there.
5. Next, add in your mushrooms and keep sauteing them until they reduce in size and turn a dark brown color. 
6. Add in your yams and coat them in the mixture. If the mixture is getting a little dry, go ahead and add some of your extra olive oil and continue sauteing. 
7. Lastly, add in your peas. These don’t require much cooking so they can go last.
8. Add your Italian seasoning and salt to taste.
9. With a large slotted spoon, take your pasta directly out of the starchy water and add it to your veggies mixture. The slight bit of starchy water on the pasta turns the sauce a little more creamy and loosens it up.
10. Mix well and enjoy!

The Results

The results of this recipe are absolutely amazing. You get a variety of textures – crunchy from the Brussels sprouts, chewy from the mushrooms, soft from the yams. Not to mention the incredible flavors – caramelized from the Brussels sprouts, smoky from the mushrooms, a burst of sweet from the yams, and small pops of flavor from the peas. All these flavors are very well-balanced out by the super simple butter sauce, which keeps the flavors from getting overwhelming.

A feast for the eyes and for the mouth, I cannot wait to hear from all of you what you think of this recipe and see your wonderful pictures of your renditions!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and I will see you again soon with one of YOUR recipe requests, by popular demand!

Be right back,

Janani <3 <3