Thursday, March 17, 2011

Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheese

(based on Martha Stewart's recipe)

After being derailed due to yucky and expensive cauliflower, I had to come up with a Plan B for the butternut squash - bingo! This far exceeded our expectations - it was rich, creamy, and absolutely delicious. I lightened it up with almond milk, and reduced fat ricotta - not that you'd have noticed it was lower in fat. Wonderful dish - I'll absolutely make this again. Not that we ever need convincing when it comes to pasta.

Bake squash, on a sheet of parchment at 400 degrees for about one hour, until soft. Scoop out squash flesh and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large pot place stock, milk, squash and spices on a medium simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes. Then, with an immersion blender (or use your cuisinart), blend until pretty smooth.

Place all cheeses, except a little Parmesan (save in a bowl for topping) in a large mixing bowl, stir to combine. (I actually added this to the heated squash mixture - then tossed all the pasta in)

When pasta is al dente, add to the heated pasta, and combine everything - the pasta will continue to cook a bit.

In the meantime, I toasted the breadcrumbs in a pan, with a little olive oil, then added some parm.

Spoon up your pasta, and top it with some of the the crumb mixture.

Oh, the leftovers were just as amazing :)

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