Name: Roasted Butternut Squash & Balsamic Sauce Recipe for Pasta
Yield: Makes 3 cups
Ingredients: 2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1/4 tsp kosher salt; 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (or more) vegetable broth; 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp balsamic vinegar; Salt and pepper to taste

Why it works: Butternut squash and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 116 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Roasted Butternut Squash & Balsamic Sauce Recipe for Pasta

Makes 3 cups

Ingredients

2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup plus 2 tbsp (or more) vegetable broth
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

184Calories

2 gProtein

14 gFat

13 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pumpkin	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By cookincanuck. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Butternut squash + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together116 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Butternut squash + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together689 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together13,015 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,297 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butternut squash, olive, pepper, vinegar):

Capersfits better
Rosemaryfits better
Garlicfits better
Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butternut squash, olive, pepper, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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