I am always, always, always cooking for leftovers. This is because I, like you, have a day job that can leave me knackered and pressed for time at the end of the day; and therefore I, like you, do not have the will or the time to cook every single night.
Often, cooking for leftovers entails grain salads or big batches of soup. But sometimes, it’s cold out and you want something heftier—say, a baked pasta. But four nights in a row of meat-and-cheese lasagna? I can’t. (Or at least: I shouldn’t.)
Enter this mac and cheese. It hits all the winter comfort food marks: noodles, melted cheese, piping hot. It makes enough for leftovers (or to serve a crowd). And yet: the swapping out of some cheese for pureed butternut squash makes me more comfortable with having this a few nights in a row.
But as always, taste is the most important thing. This mac nails it. The pureed butternut squash blends beautifully with the cheese, lending it a silky texture without sacrificing flavor. You have baked pasta, which has never not been good. The herbs mixed through keep it from being bland. And then the breadcrumbs on top give you a crispy, golden-brown lid that if you do not eat, I will.
Oh and finally: you can add bacon.
This uses a fair few dishes, but for the piping hot mac and the quantity that it makes, it’s worth the clean-up time.
Six months ago: Goat Cheese Toasts with Herbed Cherry Tomato Compote
One year ago: Hot Fudge Banana Pound Cake
A more elegant butternut squash pasta bake: Butternut Squash Lasagna with Sage, Caramelized Onions, and Tofu Ricotta
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash, quartered and seeded
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper
1 pound (454g) elbow macaroni or other short pasta, such as ziti
2 1/2 cups (590mL) milk (not skim), room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons (42g) butter
3 tablespoons (24g) flour
pinch of ground nutmeg
1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage or rosemary, plus a few additional sprigs, to garnish
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (requires about a 3/4 pound or 340g block of cheese)
1 cup (100g) breadcrumbs
Bacon, fried until cooked, then crumbled (optional; see recipe notes, below)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F (204C). Place quartered butternut squash cut-side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for 30-40 minutes, or until tender. Remove squash from oven, let cool, and then scoop out the insides. Discard skin.
While the butternut squash is roasting, cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
Place butternut squash in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Add 1/2 cup milk, puree again.
Place butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When it has melted, whisk in the flour. Add the nutmeg. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the flour mixture smells nutty and is a medium golden brown, stirring the whole time. Add the remaining 2 cups of milk and whisk until mixture is smooth. (Using room temperature milk helps with keeping the mixture smooth here.) Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil while continuing to whisk. After the sauce has thickened, turn the heat to low and whisk in butternut squash mixture. Stir in the fresh sage. Add the cooked macaroni to pan and stir until the macaroni noodles are well coated. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Grease a 3-quart casserole dish. Pour half of the macaroni noodles into the pan. Sprinkle half of the grated cheddar over the macaroni. Add the remaining noodles, then top with the rest of the cheese. If you’re adding bacon, layer it with the noodles and cheese during this step. Then sprinkle breadcrumbs over everything, and garnish with a few rosemary and/or sage leaves.
Place the pan in the oven and bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes, or until the macaroni and cheese is bubbling and the breadcrumb lid is browning. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Want to add bacon? 3-4 slices would work. Just fry the bacon until cooked, drain on paper towels, let cool, and then crumble. Then just layer with the noodles and cheese in the final step.
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