Scutternutbosh?

Throughout the fall and early winter, as I browsed foodgawker.com and the myriad food blogs I regularly visit, I kept seeing recipes for butternut squash mac and cheese.  Who doesn't love cheese?  Who doesn't love butternut squash?  Their marriage in one warm, comforting dish was destiny.  Unfortunately, I was not brave enough to attempt b.s.m.&c. in a dormitory kitchen.  Too many different elements and tools I simply did not have available to me.  Therefore, I craved this dish for months!

We have several butternut squash from our CSA, and I finally bought some cheddar cheese (for a week, I kept forgetting each time I went to the grocery store!).  Louisa came over, and luckily, she was just as enthusiastic about b.s.m.&c. as I was.  Our challenge: Louisa is currently gluten-free, so normal wheat pasta was a no-go.  However, given the recent popularity of being gluten-free, there are several varieties of gluten-free pastas at Whole Foods.  There is rice pasta.  There is corn pasta.  Our choice: a quinoa and corn pasta.  I was pleasantly surprised by this pasta!  It has a very interesting texture.  Maybe not as smooth as regular wheat pasta, but it has its own integrity and bite to it.  This pasta was just what we needed to hold up to a thick, creamy butternut squash and cheese sauce.

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese (adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod)

Ingredients:

• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 pound pasta (we used Ancient Harvest Quinoa Rotelle)
• 1 1/4 cups milk, divided
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Toss butternut squash pieces with olive oil, salt, and pepper, to taste.  Spread the pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until tender.  (It's ok, and perhaps preferable, if a few pieces turn brown on the edges.)
3. Remove the butternut squash from the oven and allow to cool.  (This whole roasting process can even be done a day or two before in preparation.)
4. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Make sure not to overcook!  Drain, and set aside.
5. Puree the cooled butternut squash with 1/4 cup milk in a blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender.
6. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large pot on the stove.  When the butter is melted, add the flour and nutmeg and whisk constantly for two or three minutes.
7. Add the remaining 1 cup of milk and whisk until smooth.  Then, turn the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly.  When the sauce has thickened, turn the heat to low and add the pureed butternut squash and the two cheeses.  Whisk until smooth.  Stir in the rosemary.
8. Add the cooked pasta to the butternut squash and cheese mixture and stir with a spoon until all the pasta is coated.
9. Serve and devour. 

We tripled (at least) the amount of butternut squash from the original Two Peas & Their Pod recipe because we loooove butternut squash.  This made the sauce very thick, which we really liked.  If you would prefer a thinner sauce or a more pronounced cheese flavor, you may want to reduce the amount of squash used in this recipe.  Up to you!

Shredding cheese can be rather daunting...? ...confuzzling? 

My weak blender was not the tool to use for this butternut-squash-pureeing application, as is evidenced by my use of the back of a wooden spoon to dislodge lots of stuck squash at the bottom of the blender.  The smile is deceiving...this was annoying.  Next time: the almighty food processor.

Our delicious squashy and cheesy mac.  The butternut squash made the mac and cheese look like that generic, packaged orange mac and cheese heehee...but trust me, the taste was absolutely nothing like that yucky stuff.  It was scrumpdidillyumptious, and still fabulous the next day, reheated in the microwave.

We decided we needed a side of veggies to accompany our mac.  We raided the fridge and chose some beautiful root vegetables from our CSA: carrots, parsnips, and watermelon radishes.  We sliced them thinly, sauteed them in a little bit of olive oil, and seasoned with a tiny bit of salt and pepper.  These watermelon radishes are just so wonderful that they deserve a glamour shot here.  Isn't it amazing that a) these intensely pink vegetables grow in the first place and b) in the winter nonetheless!  I am so thankful that we have a CSA because otherwise I would never know these beauties exist as I have never seen them in a grocery store.

So vibrant!  Brightens up any dreary winter day.

Sauteed root veggies.  Simple but delectable.