I know it's not that unheard of to put squash in mac and cheese but I thought why not use it as the serving dish, just for fun. (Just because I'm eating dinner alone doesn't mean the presentation isn't still important.) I figured the spinach would kick up the nutritional value to this dish since there isn't any other green vegetable in it.
This really tasted quite good. I like the flavor of the Fontina cheese with the squash a lot. The crispiness of the top of the mac & cheese added some good texture.
Mac & Cheese Stuffed Squash
1 large acorn squash, cut in half, seeds & pulp cleaned out
4 oz elbow pasta
1/2 T unsalted butter
1/4 c onion, chopped
1 T all-purpose flour
1/3 c milk
3 T heavy cream
2 1/2 oz fontina cheese, grated
pinch of dry mustard
salt & pepper
1/2 c spinach, torn
panko
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Scrape the pulp out of the squash to create a bowl, leaving about 1/2-inch about all the sides. Save the scrapings if you want to include them in the mac & cheese or for another use. Place the squash cut side down in a baking dish & add about 1-inch of water. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions & cook until translucent. Stir in the flour & cook for 1 minute. Turn the heat to medium-low & slowly stir in the milk & cream. Stir until hot & thickened. Add the cheese & stir until melted. Season with the mustard, salt & pepper. Stir in the spinach & squash scrapings if using. Stir the drained pasta in until coated.
Take the squash out of the oven. Pour off the water & flip over. Fill with the mac & cheese. Sprinkle panko on top. Bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is golden brown & top is crispy.
2 servings
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Mac & Cheese Stuffed Squash
1 large acorn squash, cut in half, seeds & pulp cleaned out
4 oz elbow pasta
1/2 T unsalted butter
1/4 c onion, chopped
1 T all-purpose flour
1/3 c milk
3 T heavy cream
2 1/2 oz fontina cheese, grated
pinch of dry mustard
salt & pepper
1/2 c spinach, torn
panko
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Scrape the pulp out of the squash to create a bowl, leaving about 1/2-inch about all the sides. Save the scrapings if you want to include them in the mac & cheese or for another use. Place the squash cut side down in a baking dish & add about 1-inch of water. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions & cook until translucent. Stir in the flour & cook for 1 minute. Turn the heat to medium-low & slowly stir in the milk & cream. Stir until hot & thickened. Add the cheese & stir until melted. Season with the mustard, salt & pepper. Stir in the spinach & squash scrapings if using. Stir the drained pasta in until coated.
Take the squash out of the oven. Pour off the water & flip over. Fill with the mac & cheese. Sprinkle panko on top. Bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is golden brown & top is crispy.
2 servings
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski
I am crazy about mac and cheese. This looks like a definite winner! I'm bookmarking.
ReplyDeleteThat looks fantastic! Hubs and I were just talking about mac n' cheese today and I just might have to try this out. :D
ReplyDeleteas someone who subsists on single girl grub, i'm ashamed that i never thought of this masterful combination. best filling ever, the end.
ReplyDeletekat... your presentation is fantastic. Stuffing the squash with spinach and Mac & Cheese makes it a 'one pot' meal ~ brilliant!
ReplyDeleteso we get a little bit of comfort food then healthy all in one meal? perfect!
ReplyDeleteVery cute. I may need to try it to introduce my kids to a "healthy" serving bowl when feeding Mac & Cheese.
ReplyDeleteI have a squash that I was wondering what to do with - now I know!! Sounds delish and comforting
ReplyDeleteOh, squash!
ReplyDeleteSometime, some times, I just get a craving for squash (odd and bizarre, yes!).
This looks very YUM. ;)
Welcome back from San Fran by the way. You have been quite busy since you got back.
ReplyDeleteThis is an unusual combination. I bet it was delicious. I love stuffed squash. So pretty and tastey.
Made this tonight for the whole fam and it was really good! I doubled the mac n cheese part for the kiddos but it was also a good way to sneak in some veggies. I used half Barilla whole grain elbows and half Barilla veggie elbows to make it so that they couldn't avoid the veggies no matter what!
ReplyDeleteI have a "lazy man" suggestion: I tried grating the cheese but it was too soft. I just glopped it in there and it still melted beautifully.
I imagine you could also make this gluten-free by adding corn starch to thicken instead of flour and gluten-free noodles. I myself am not a celiac, but I have a few in the extended family.