Butternut Squash Noodles with White Wine Mushroom and Sage
Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love the crisp feel in the air and the exploding colors as the trees move into their their winter slumber. The raw foods I love start to change from the light, fresh summer fruits to the heavier root vegetables. Seasoning starts to speak of sage and cinnamon. I want food that is more earthy, more dense. Butternut squash noodles are the perfect start to this savory fall recipe.
Butternut squash is abundant in the fall and is showing up at the farmer’s markets. It is rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients, has tons of fiber and has significant levels of vitamin b6, and potassium. One glance at the orange flesh instantly lets you know that butternut squash is also full of carotenoids which help protect against breast cancer, macular degeneration and heart disease.
We often think of butternut squash only cooked, smothered with butter and brown sugar. But did you know that butternut squash is amazing raw? I think it taste better than cooked. When you cook the squash, not only do you decrease the available nutrients, it also gets very starchy. Raw butternut squash has a fresh taste and great texture.
I had mushrooms in the refrigerator and sage growing in the garden. They combine beautifully with the squash making a delicious, filling raw food recipe for your fall table. The addition of an organic white wine while delicious, is not mandatory.
* You will want to marinate the mushrooms and soak the cashews the night before.
Butternut Squash with White Wine Mushroom and Sage
SERVES 4-6
Marinated Mushrooms
- 4 cups mushrooms, sliced thin
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup nama shoyu
- 2 tablespoons agave or raw honey
- Whisk together all ingredients except mushrooms to make marinade.
- Pour marinade over mushrooms, toss and place in refrigerator overnight, stirring occasionally.
Mushroom Sage White Wine Cream Sauce
- 1 cup cashews, soaked overnight in the refrigerator, rinsed and drained.
- 1/4 cup organic or biodynamic white wine
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons dried sage
- Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups marinated mushrooms, rinsed and drained (see recipe above)
- Place all ingredients except mushrooms in high-speed blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Stir in mushrooms (by hand).
Butternut Squash Nests
- 1 medium butternut squash, sprialized*
- Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
- Arrange spiralized squash in a circle.
- Lightly salt and pepper.
- Top with mushroom sauce (recipe above).
- Sprinkle with more dried sage.
*If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can just grate the squash.
Desiree wrote on November 14, 2011
Thank you very much Susan. One more question please; if one chooses not to ingest wine, what could be substituted do you think?
Susan wrote on November 15, 2011
Hi, Desiree, You can just omit the wine.
Desiree wrote on November 13, 2011
I was just getting ready to make this great sounding recipe when I thought “Wait, where does the 2nd 2 cups of mushrooms go?” I understand 2 cups get marinated and those are to be used but at the top the recipe calls for 4 cups. Hmm..
Susan wrote on November 13, 2011
When you marinate 4 cups of mushrooms, the size of the mushrooms reduces and you are left with 2 cups of marinated mushrooms. 🙂 If you read the recipe closely, you will see that all 4 cups of mushrooms get marinated.
Yasmin wrote on October 7, 2011
Hi Susan, just want it to know why the mushroom sauce is white? I don’t see any ingredient in the list like cream or something that gives this color or texture.
Thanks!!
Love your recipes 🙂
Susan wrote on October 7, 2011
The cashews create a “cream” sauce.
Anna wrote on October 6, 2011
I made this last night and was amazed at how good the butternut squash was! So much better than pumpkin. The flavor balance was perfect, again! You have an amazing way with ingredients.
Maija Haavisto wrote on October 6, 2011
Sounds nice! When I read the title of the post I had to check I was on the right website. ;-> Most raw sites/books don’t use raw pumpkin, so I always assumed raw butternut wouldn’t be too tasty either. But I’ll have to try it. I’ve always felt butternut is a bit overrated compared to pumpkin, which I prefer.
2 tbsp of dried sage sounds like a lot, by the way. 😮
janet @ the taste space wrote on October 5, 2011
I have never thought to eat squash raw. Can’t wait to try it with my spiralizer. 🙂
sjaan wrote on October 2, 2011
I love your blog THANKS HEAPS!
Anne-Marie wrote on October 2, 2011
@ Eileen, I just made this using white wine vinegar (not raw but anyway) and a bit of agave to take the edge off the bitterness. It worked well. Another fantastic recipe from Susan.
Jane wrote on October 1, 2011
I made this last night and it really is “rawmazing.” I improvised a little and popped everything into the dehydrator for 2 hours to get a bit of warmth. Thanks Susan!