The classic Butternut mac and cheese recipe with a few swaps – chèvre cheese, a little cinnamon, nutmeg, Kashmiri chilli and rosemary.
However, keep an eye on yours. As you can see, we were in a hurry for lunch today and weren’t paying enough attention to the grill while it was in super-speed fan mode. It was delicious – I just about got away with it. The chèvre taste is subtle, allowing all the other flavours to sing. However, I know mac-and-cheese audiences can be tricky. By all means, swap back to a more traditional cheddar and/or gruyere cheese combination. However, the hint of cinnamon and nutmeg with rosemary is tasty, so you must balance it and not let the cheese drown everything out.
Roast or Saute the Butternut?
You can roast the butternut, but I think you’ll get a better flavour by gently cooking it with the onion and spices. You only need a little oil, and then gently saute to infuse all the flavours. Halfway through, you can add a little of the stock to help soften it. You can do the same with milk if you are only using milk.
Pasta Choices for Butternut Mac and Cheese
I used a mixture of whole wheat and chickpea pasta. I know whole-wheat pasta can be challenging to cook, but it works well in this recipe. You don’t have to toast the pumpkin seeds, but it’s always a shame to waste them, as they are a little more original than the traditional breadcrumb topping.
Whichever cheese you are using, reserve either a couple of slices of chèvre broken up or a good handful of grated cheese for the topping.
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Butternut Mac and Chèvre Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash – peeled and cut into small cubes. Reserve the pumpkin seeds. about 1K
- 1 med onion
- 1 large clove of garlic
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 branch rosemary
- large pinch Kashmiri or any chilli powder of choice
- ½-1 tsp salt
- 150 g grated parmesan
- 200 g bûche de chèvre – crumbled into small pieces or replace with cheese of choice
- 300 ml milk of choice
- 200 ml vegetable or chicken stock or use 500ml of milk
- 50 g all purpose flour
- 350 g pasta of choice
- freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat the over to 180 °C
- Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Cook the pasta until just al dente. Reserve a little of the cooking water.
- If using, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan and toss with a pinch of flaked salt. Set aside.
- Soften the onion in a little olive oil and add the butternut. Cook for a few minutes until there is some moisture in the pan. Add the rosemary, garlic, ½ tsp of salt and the spices. Add a good grinding of black pepper.
- Cook gently until the butternut starts to soften. Add half the vegetable stock. Add the remaining stock and half the milk when the butternut is soft enough to puree. Cook for a minute and then puree with a stick blender.
- Mix two of three tablespoons of the puree with the flour and the rest of the milk until smooth, then bring the sauce back to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese. Check for seasoning and adjust.
- If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with the reserved pasta water. Stir in the pasta and sprinkle over the cheese.
- Place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until it is bubbling and browned, then finish under the grill to brown.
- Serve sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and a big green salad.
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