3 posts tagged “butternut”
One of the most popular dishes on this blog has been the butternut mac and cheese. It's certainly one of the most popular at my house. This dish has served us well at several Wednesday night Lost and/or Project Runway watching parties, and countless other random nights when I had a multitude of squash to use up from our farm share. I first posted about it last January and a year later people are still trying it (despite the fact that this blog has been all but left for dead since Thanksgiving. Umm.... sorry, guys.) In fact my friend Dave emailed me today with his tales of success, mess, and modifications to the recipe.
He's not the only one who's been making some changes. I have been tinkering over the past year with the recipe and I think I have finally found the perfect version. The first modification I made was keeping some of the squash in chunks instead of pureeing it all in with the cheese sauce. I liked the orangeness and richness that the pureed squash lent to the cheese sauce, but I missed the contrast of sweet and salty that you get from carmelized chunks of squash, which was lost in the blended texture. So I settled on a version with half the squash pureed and half roasted in chunks.
Also I experimented with reducing the amount of butter and in the end, I chopped off an entire tablespoon. (OK not that impressive, but considering the original recipe I adapted it from had an entire stick of butter, I think getting it down to half that is pretty good.) Since I reduced the butter, I also had to adjust the amount of flour, milk, and broth in the sauce. But I chose not to reduce the cheese amount at all, because, cmon it's mac and CHEESE.
Over time I decided I liked a little more kick in the sauce so I increased the amount of cayenne by a 1/4 teaspoon.
The final change I made was to bake the casserole in the oven rather than crisping the top under the broiler. I kept on getting little burnt fringes when I did the broiler, and I find that the oven browning is more reliable plus it gives the noodles time to absorb more of the cheesy flavor. It takes a little longer but it's worth it in my opinion. If you roast the squash the day before it's still a pretty quick dish to make.
Dave alerted me to a caveat with the breadcrumb topping - prepared breadcrumbs do not mix well with the melted butter - it creates a pasty texture that is difficult to sprinkle over the casserole. So stick to homemade or panko breadcrumbs.
And now, without further ado, I present you with the final recipe:
Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg plus more for sprinkling
heaping 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 slice of bread - OR - 1 cup panko crumbs
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Slice squash in half and discard seeds . Peel one of the squash halves and cut into 1-inch cubes. Spray the half and the chunks with cooking oil and sprinkle with a little nutmeg. Place the squash half, cut side down, on a baking sheet and scatter the squash chunks next to it in a single layer. Roast for 45 minutes until very tender.
While squash is cooking, make breadcrumbs by putting 1 slice of bread in the food processor and pulsing until it creates fine breadcrumbs. Set aside.
After removing squash from the oven, reduce the heat to 350.
When squash has cooled, set aside the chunks of squash. Peel skin off the squash half and discard. Puree squash half in food processor until it has a smooth consistency. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt generously. Boil pasta to al dente - about 6 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside.
Melt 3 Tablespoons butter (set aside 1 Tablespoon) and slowly stir in the 1/3 cup of flour to form a paste.
Off heat, SLOWLY whisk in 1 1/2 cups of milk. Return to medium low heat until sauce fully blends and thickens.
Add pureed squash to the thickened sauce.
Add mustard, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of cheese (set aside 1/2 cup for the topping) and 1 cup of stock, alternating cheese and stock by cupfuls. Taste sauce, adjust seasonings if needed.
Combine pasta, squash chunks, and cheese sauce in a large casserole dish, toss to coat evenly.
Melt the remaining Tablespoon of butter and blend with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and the breadcrumbs to form topping. Sprinkle mixture over the macaroni.
Place macaroni uncovered in a 350 degree oven until cheese sauce is bubbling and breadcrumb topping is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Serves 8, leftovers freeze well if you're so inclined. Reheat frozen portions in a 350 oven for 20-30 minutes or just nuke it.
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg plus more for sprinkling
heaping 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 slice of bread - OR - 1 cup panko crumbs
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Slice squash in half and discard seeds . Peel one of the squash halves and cut into 1-inch cubes. Spray the half and the chunks with cooking oil and sprinkle with a little nutmeg. Place the squash half, cut side down, on a baking sheet and scatter the squash chunks next to it in a single layer. Roast for 45 minutes until very tender.
While squash is cooking, make breadcrumbs by putting 1 slice of bread in the food processor and pulsing until it creates fine breadcrumbs. Set aside.
After removing squash from the oven, reduce the heat to 350.
When squash has cooled, set aside the chunks of squash. Peel skin off the squash half and discard. Puree squash half in food processor until it has a smooth consistency. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt generously. Boil pasta to al dente - about 6 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside.
Melt 3 Tablespoons butter (set aside 1 Tablespoon) and slowly stir in the 1/3 cup of flour to form a paste.
Off heat, SLOWLY whisk in 1 1/2 cups of milk. Return to medium low heat until sauce fully blends and thickens.
Add pureed squash to the thickened sauce.
Add mustard, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of cheese (set aside 1/2 cup for the topping) and 1 cup of stock, alternating cheese and stock by cupfuls. Taste sauce, adjust seasonings if needed.
Combine pasta, squash chunks, and cheese sauce in a large casserole dish, toss to coat evenly.
Melt the remaining Tablespoon of butter and blend with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and the breadcrumbs to form topping. Sprinkle mixture over the macaroni.
Place macaroni uncovered in a 350 degree oven until cheese sauce is bubbling and breadcrumb topping is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Serves 8, leftovers freeze well if you're so inclined. Reheat frozen portions in a 350 oven for 20-30 minutes or just nuke it.
Finally, after weeks of inexplicably sweltering October nights, there's a chill in the air and the nights are drawing in. Perfect weather for soup. Soups are such a great fall and winter dish because they're hearty and bellywarming yet most are fairly healthy, plus they don't take much effort. Add some bread and cheese and a nice salad and you've got dinner.
Soups are also a fun food to make because they are easy to experiment with and fairly easy to correct if by any chance your experiment doesn't turn out perfectly on the first try. My personal soup formula is sauteed aromatics+featured vegetable+enough chicken broth or water to cover. Simmer for 30 minutes, add seasonings, and puree. Add extra water if needed, taste, and correct seasonings. Serve with a sprinkling of minced fresh herbs or a drizzle of olive oil or if you have it, white truffle oil. And there you have it. Here are two of my recent masterpieces following this formula. The cauliflower soup is similar to the classic French soup, Potage Parmentier, except with cauliflower substituted for the potatoes. It's just as satisfying as the original, in my opinion though. The slow cooked cauliflower has a unique, earthy flavor that pairs perfectly with the fresh flavor of the leeks. The squash soup is just absolutely heavenly The rich taste of roasted squash, combined with the caramelized onions is delicious, and the touch of earthy white truffle aroma is what takes this soup from yummy to divine.
Cauliflower Leek Soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
2 leeks, thoroughly washed and rinsed to remove grit, and sliced into 1/4 inch slices.
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon minced chives or parsley
1 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions:
Melt butter over medium heat until foaming has subsided. Add leeks and cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Add cauliflower and chicken broth, plus up to 4 cups more of water to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, simmering for about 30 minutes. Puree, either using an immersion stick blender or in batches in a conventional blender, until very smooth. If needed, add more water until the soup reaches your desired consistency. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and top each with a sprinkling of minced chives and/or parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.
Serves 6
Truffled Winter Squash Soup
Ingredients:
1 large winter squash - butternut, kambocha, pumpkin,or kuri squash.
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing squash
1 onion, diced
8 sage leaves, finely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoons lemon zest (1 lemon's worth)
1 teaspoon white truffle oil
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half and scoop out seeds. Brush squash halves with olive oil and place, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Place baking sheet in oven. Roast for about 50 minutes or until very tender. Remove squash from oven and allow to cool. Peel skin from the cooked squash and discard.
Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large stock pot and add diced onions. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until very tender and starting to caramelize.
Add the sage leaves and cooked squash to the onions.
Add 4 cups chicken broth and stir to blend. Add 2 cups of water. Turn heat to high to bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to simmering. Cook for 20 minutes, then add lemon zest.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup or else blend in a stand blender in batches, then return to pot.
If needed, add more water until soup is the consistency you prefer, and heat until simmering. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with white truffle oil.
Serves 6
Did you know I'm responsible for an internet sensation? Well, I am. (If something that became very popular on a private internet message board can qualify as a sensation, that is.)
I
first became acquainted with the phenomenon of internet message boards
when I was planning my wedding last year. Overwhelmed by the multitude
of details and decisions involved, I perused the internet looking for
someone who would tell me the answers to all things wedding.
Theknot.com was a good site for looking at flowers and dresses and
reading about the multitude of options for wording your wedding
invitation with divorced parents, but when I peeked at their discussion
boards it was a different story. They were a mass of random chaos
peppered by questions about "Tears ofJoy" packets and custom-built
dance floors, and when it's OK to kick a bridesmaid out of your wedding
party. (In case you aren't familiar with the term, Tears of Joy Packets
are daintily decorated packets of kleenex distributed throughout the
pews for wedding guests to dab at the tears they will inevitably shed
as they witness the bride and groom's momentous joy. I'm serious.)
Eventually
I found my way to a slightly more down to earth place to discuss
weddings and the minutiae they provoke one to obsess over:
Indiebride.com. Actually the thing I liked best about that site was
the sensibility of the other women posting on there. For the most
part, they were thoughtful, open-minded, articulate women who didn't
take their weddings, or themselves too seriously. So when I was done
with wedding planning and tired of reading about guest list quandries
and cocktail menus, I drifted over to a non-wedding-related board
peopled mostly by ex-Indiebrides.
After you go through with planning a wedding you are left with this surplus of project energy and no project to work on. Some turn to scrapbooking. Some take up sewing or antiqueing. Some buy a house or have a baby. Me, I channelled my nesting instinct into the kitchen.
Apparently I'm not the only one, because the Cooking forum is one of the most popular ones on that non-wedding message board. Among the dozens of discussions on cooking, there are threads about cookbooks, kitchen equipment, holiday menus, party food, crockpot cooking, packing your lunch, two virtual cooking workshops, and my favorite, "What's for Dinner." On What's for Dinner, people just write about what they're planning on making for dinner, and share recipes. It's a great inspiration for those of us who tend to fall back on a few old favorites, especially on hurried week nights. It's also where I started an internet sensation.
After you go through with planning a wedding you are left with this surplus of project energy and no project to work on. Some turn to scrapbooking. Some take up sewing or antiqueing. Some buy a house or have a baby. Me, I channelled my nesting instinct into the kitchen.
Apparently I'm not the only one, because the Cooking forum is one of the most popular ones on that non-wedding message board. Among the dozens of discussions on cooking, there are threads about cookbooks, kitchen equipment, holiday menus, party food, crockpot cooking, packing your lunch, two virtual cooking workshops, and my favorite, "What's for Dinner." On What's for Dinner, people just write about what they're planning on making for dinner, and share recipes. It's a great inspiration for those of us who tend to fall back on a few old favorites, especially on hurried week nights. It's also where I started an internet sensation.
It
all started with a quest for healthier macaroni and cheese. I had
somehow come across the idea of adding butternut squash to mac and
cheese in order to cut fat and up the fiber and vitamins of this homey
favorite. I couldn't remember where I had seen the recipe, so I tried
googling it and came across this great foodie blog, my madeleine.
Well, the recipe she detailed was far from healthy, with a whopping 10 tablespoons of butter and a pound of cheese. But it did have extra vitamins and fiber, right? At any rate I'm a sucker for the salty/sweet combo, and butternut squash and cheddar cheese fit that bill perfectly. I gave the recipe a try, and it was without a doubt the best, yummiest mac and cheese I had tasted in my life. The cheese sauce is the CHEESIEST ever. The roasted squash is caramely and nutty and sweet. The topping is nice and crispy and golden without being dried out or leathery. And it has a nice, dense texture that holds together well when you serve it.
Despite
its culinary perfection, I tinkered with the recipe a little to make
it slightly (marginally) less fattening, and quicker to prepare. I
also decided to puree the squash instead of leaving it in chunks for a
more homogeneous, traditional mac and cheese texture.
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 pound elbow macaroni - I use Barilla whole-grain macaroni (the yellow box)
- 5 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1 pound shredded medium sharp cheddar (about 4 cups)
- 1 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 slice of bread (I use rye bread because that's what we usually have around, but any kind will do.)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Slice squash in half and discard seeds. Place, cut side down, on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour until very tender.
While squash is cooking, make breadcrumbs by putting 1 slice of bread in the food processor and pulsing until it creates fine breadcrumbs. Set aside.
When squash has cooled, peel skin off and discard. Puree squash in food processor until it has a smooth consistency. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt generously. Boil pasta to al dente - about 6 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside.
Melt 4 Tablespoons butter (set aside 1 Tablespoon) and slowly stir in 1/2 c flour to form a paste.
Off heat, SLOWLY whisk in 2 cups of milk. Return to medium low heat until sauce fully blends and thickens.
Add pureed squash to the thickened sauce.
Add mustard, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Stir in 3 cups of cheese (set aside 1 cup for the topping) and 1 3/4 cups of stock, alternating cheese and stock by cupfuls. Taste sauce, adjust seasonings if needed.
Combine pasta, squash and cheese sauce in a large bowl, toss to coat evenly. Transfer mixture to an oven-safe dish.
Melt the remaining Tablespoon of butter and blend with remaining cup of cheese and the breadcrumbs to form topping. Sprinkle mixture over the macaroni.
Place macaroni under the broiler until topping is nicely browned - about 2-4 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
