Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Mac & Cheese with Butternut Squash

This mac & cheese recipe is the standard one around our house. Usually we add cherry tomatoes to it but since we are in the middle of the tundra right now tomatoes are not really at their best. We do though have a lot of squash right now so I thought that roasted it would add a nice sweetness that the tomatoes usually do.
Mac & Cheese with Butternut Squash
It really was a nice addition to the mac & cheese. Its not quite as sweet as the tomatoes but it is a richer sweetness. The creamy texture blends in really well with the pasta & cheese sauce as well.

Mac & Cheese with Butternut Squash

1 1/2 c butternut squash, peeled & cut into 1/2-inch cubes
olive oil
3/4 lb penne pasta
1 medium onion
1 Tbs butter
1/8 C flour
1 C milk
1/2 C heavy cream
1 1/2 C grated cheddar cheese
3/4 C grated gryere
dry mustard
salt
pepper
panko

Put the squash in a small roasting pan & coat with a little olive oil. Roast at 400 F for 30 - 45 minutes until soft & starting to brown. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to directions drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Heat a small skillet over low heat. Slice onion very thin. Add onion to skillet and saute slowly until brown and carmelized. Mix into pasta.

In a small saucepan melt butter over med-low heat. Add flour an stir constantly for 1 minute. Do not allow to brown. Slowly whisk in milk and cream. Stir until hot and smooth and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Turn heat to low and add cheese. Whisk until melted. Add a pinch of dry mustard and salt and pepper to taste.

Butter a glass casserole dish. Add pasta, onions, butternut squash and cheese sauce. Mix well until cheese sauce covers everything. Sprinkle panko over the top.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Serves 4

12 comments:

Stacey Snacks said...

Kat,
Can you believe I have not made mac and cheese EVER?
I am afraid to have that pan of goodness in the house, for fear of eating the whole thing!
Stace

Jen said...

Hmmmm.... I think this might be dinner for tonight.

Alicia Foodycat said...

That sounds so good! I can just imagine how well the pumpkin sweetness would work.

Have a lovely Christmas!

Lori said...

I would love to try this but fear that I would eat way too much of this cheesy goodness!

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Butternut squash is a perfect addition to mac and cheese. Creamy goodness!

Maria said...

I bet the squash is amazing with mac and cheese!

Beth (jamandcream) said...

This sounds really good. You can't beat mac n cheese

grace said...

how good of you to toss in some squash--just think of the added health benefits! :)

Peter M said...

This looks so freakin' good, luv the squash addition to make it a little healthy!

test it comm said...

I really like the sound of adding some sweet squash to some creamy mac and cheese!

Jen said...

Hi Kat and Matt-- so I did actually make this one on the night that I said I would... only I've just gotten around to posting about it now. It was a great recipe-

Lauren Bownds said...

Love it! Here is my take on butternut squash mac & cheese! It's so awesome to be able to play around and come up with healthy versions of yummy foods. I'm going to start following your blog, so glad I found you! Here is my blog... www.relishinglife.blog.com

thanks so much!

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