As soon as the weather turns, I quickly abandon summer salads and turn to fall foods: butternut squash, roasted root vegetables, sweet potato, kale and almond salad, cornbread. For breakfast, I’ve been craving pumpkin granola and for dinner this: roasted almond butternut squash sauce.

My plan for this meal was elaborate. We have over 5 lbs of new potatoes sitting in our fridge from our CSA and I wanted to make this gluten free potato gnocchi to pair with the sauce. I took a trip out to Cambridge to visit H-Mart , an amazing Asian market, to pick up some sweet rice flour, then spent hours in the kitchen baking the potatoes, rolling out the dough, shaping the gnocchi. It looked good and I had high hopes. But when I boiled them, they turned to mush: inedible.

The piece of this plan that did work out, thankfully, was this roasted almond butternut squash sauce. Roasted squash, almond butter, coconut milk, onions and sage are blended together to make this smooth and rich sauce that is deliciously creamy and vegan. This sauce is perfect for gnocchi (if you have a gluten free recipe that works, let me know) or a pasta (or pasta-like alternative) of your choice including spaghetti squash or this gluten free potato spaghetti. Topped with fried sage and roasted almonds, this is fall comfort food at its best.

WHY IT’S HEALTHY // This roasted almond butternut squash sauce is gluten free, vegan and paleo. Butternut squash is full of fiber, potassium, B vitamins and folate. It’s orange hue indicates high levels of beta-carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A. Almond butter is full of healthy polyunsaturated fats and linoleic acid. Almond butter is high is vitamin E and some B vitamins. Sage leaves are traditionally used to reduce inflammation and help with digestion. Potato spaghetti is full of nutrients and a good unrefined, gluten free alternative to regular pasta. //



