Creamy Corn and Squash Pasta

This pasta was delicious enough to get me back to posting. It's a delicious, rich pasta with butternut squash, corn kernels, a bit of heat from spicy peppers, offset by the creaminess of the sauce

The recipe is inspired by one in the book Gourmet Meals in Minutes. The original recipe uses zucchini and creme fraiche, but I don't care for zucchini and had no creme fraiche on hand, so I used butternut squash and sour cream instead, to excellent results.

Use gluten free pasta for a GF version, and ditch the cream for a still-satisfying vegan version.

Creamy Corn and Squash Pasta 

 Ingredients (for 2-4 portions): 
- 250 grams/ 0.5 lbs dried pasta, preferably a long shape like spaghetti or fettuccine
- 2 tsp olive oil 
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 of a medium butternut squash, very finely diced
- 2 cups corn kernels, frozen or fresh
- 1 jalapeno or other mildly hot pepper, de-seeded and finely diced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup sour cream or creme fraiche (optional)
- one bunch of fresh cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
- salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation: 

1. Fill large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Cook pasta according to instructions.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and the squash, and saute, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent and the squash is tender. This should take about 8 minutes, so have patience.  The squash has to be very finely diced or else it will take forever to soften this way.

3. Add the garlic, corn and hot pepper, and stir, then add the broth and bring to a boil. When the pasta is ready, drain it and add to the sauce. Stir well, and season with salt and pepper. Add the cilantro.

4. Serve in bowls, topping each portion with a large dollop of cream.