Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for butternut squash with noodles
Feel free to tone down the chillies, if you prefer. You can buy fresh makrut lime leaves from most big UK supermarkets or cheaper, frozen ones from Chinese and south-east Asian specialists. Thai Taste makes the best vegan fish sauce. You'll need a blender for this dish.
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4
1 medium butternut squash (1kg), halved, deseeded, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces2 tbsp rapeseed oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped6 fresh makrut lime leaves (or frozen and defrosted), deveined and chopped2 lemongrass stalks, bottoms only, chopped1 small onion, peeled and chopped3 green finger chillies, chopped3 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste1¾ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste400ml tin coconut milk
2 tbsp agave syrup
2½ tbsp vegan fish sauce, or to taste
To finish250g ramen noodles
25g Thai basil, leaves picked1 lime, quartered
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9. Put the squash chunks on a large oven tray lined with reusable baking paper, drizzle over the oil and toss to coat. Spread out into a single layer, then roast for 25 minutes. Set aside about 20 pieces of the roast squash, and tip the rest into a blender with 800ml water. Blitz smooth, then pour into a jug.
Without rinsing the blender, drop in the garlic, lime leaves, lemongrass, onion, chillies, sun-dried tomato paste and salt with about 150ml of the coconut milk and blitz to a smooth paste. Put a large saucepan on a medium heat and, once it's hot, add the paste and cook, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes. Add the liquidised squash, the remaining 250ml coconut milk and the agave syrup, then bring to a brief boil. Add the fish sauce to taste – I used two and a half tablespoons – then take off the heat.
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, then drain and rinse. Reheat the coconut soup, if need be, then distribute between four bowls. Divide the noodles between the bowls, top with the reserved chunks of squash and a small handful each of picked Thai basil, spritz the lime over the top and serve.
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