Let’s go ahead and make mac and cheese but make it healthy-ish-er or something. Basically, swap out half of the dairy and carbs and replace it with oven-roasted butternut squash. This butternut squash baked mac and cheese are really wonderful. It is rich and creamy and has a nutty sweetness from the pumpkin. In this part of the world, we are not as familiar with the wonders of boxed mac n cheese. Since we have Italy so close that anyone developing something like this in Europe would’ve probably been slain. None the less, I have tried this once and it is pretty much like instant ramen, if you take out the flavor packets, its just noodles that you can upgrade with anything.
I think it is pumpkin season all through the colder months, so about 9 months of the year. Butternut squash is probably my favorite because of the sweet flavor. You can add it to so much. I love to buy a whole pumpkin and just make it into several meals. This butternut squash baked mac and cheese is a portion of seasonal comfort food at its best.
The creaminess of this pasta dish comes from the butternut squash which is blended with some milk and a splash of pasta water. Then it is mixed with the pasta and swiss cheese and topped with one whole fresh mozzarella. Here we have fresh mozzarella in all of the stores and only some carry the other kind. Fresh mozzarella comes in a little pouch like packet filled with why where the cheese floats, like you would get burrata or mozzarella di buffala.
I have found that fresh mozzarella is the best if you want to do that epic cheese pull. That is what makes eating pizza so romantic, cheese stretching and sauce oozing from your chin. This butternut squash baked mac and cheese is a simple dish with just a few ingredients. You can add herbs and garlic while roasting the squash to bring it to the flavor you desire. For serving, I wouldn’t go much further than fresh herbs or some hot sauce to go with the sweetness of the pumpkin.
Butternut squash baked mac and cheese
Ingredients
- 250 g pasta shells uncooked
- 250 g butternut squash
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 100 g grated swiss cheese
- 125 g fresh mozzarella
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 200 ml milk
- 100 ml pasta water
- 3 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C
- Boil the pasta til al dente, drain and reserve some pasta water
- Cut the squash into pieces and place on a sheet pan
- Drizzle with olive oil and psrinkle with 1/2 tsp salt
- Bake for 30 minutes
- In an oven safe pan melt the butter and add the milk and the water, heat until starts to simmer
- Add in the squash and blend together in a blender or with an immersion blender
- Remove from the heat and mix in the pasta and the swiss cheese
- Cover with shreds of fresh mozzarella
- Cook for 15 minutes and a few more under the broiler to get that cheese bubbling