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OMGheeशेयर करना
Butternut Mac & Cheese
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Author:
OMGhee
Servings
6
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Is there anything more warming and welcoming than a crispy-topped dish of mac & cheese on a chilly night?
As much as we love straight-up mac & cheese, adding ghee-roasted butternut pumpkin turns it into a golden, extra-delicious and extra-nutritious version of its old self.
It’s actually easier to make than your regular mac & cheese too, because there’s no mucking around with making a bechamel sauce - you simply blend half your roast pumpkin and some canned butterbeans with milk, spices and cheese to make a magical sauce. Keeping the other half of the roast pumpkin and butterbeans whole gives you plenty of interesting texture. Then, you top it all off with a pumpkin seed, panko crumb and ghee topping to create the most indulgent crunch.
Chilly nights are suddenly sounding much more enticing. 😊
Ingredients
- 1kg Butternut pumkin (about 1 medium), peeled and cut into 2cm dice
-
2 tablespoons OMGhee, melted
- Three large garlic cloves, smashed but unpeeled
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon flaky salt
- Large handful fresh sage leaves, or sprig of rosemary, leaves chopped
- 250g macaroni or other short pasta
- 1x 400 g can butter beans, drained and liquid reserved (you’ll have about ½ cup of liquid)
- 1½ cups milk or plant-based milk
- 1 cup reserved pasta cooking water
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons vinegar (we used apple cider, but any type will work)
- Large handful kale, silverbeet or spinach leaves, shredded
- 150g vintage, mature or gruyere-style cheese, grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- For the TOPPING
- ½ cup (30g) fresh or panko breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup (55g) pumpkin seeds
- 50g vintage, mature or gruyere-style cheese, grated
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Large pinch salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
-
1 tablespoon of OMGhee, melted
Directions
Preheat your oven to 210°C (not fan-forced). Line a large oven tray with compostable baking paper.
- In a large bowl, toss together the diced pumpkin, melted ghee, whole garlic cloves, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and fresh sage or rosemary. Mix well to distribute the seasonings, then spread in a single layer on your baking tray. Roast for 20-30 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft and slightly charred around the edges. Keep the bowl for the pumpkin sauce – there’s no need to wash it in-between.
While the pumpkin is roasting, cook your pasta and make your topping: Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for a couple of minutes less than it says on the packet (as it will cook more when it’s in the oven). Drain the pasta, saving 2 cups of the cooking water. Set the saucepan aside to use again for the sauce.
- Make the topping by mixing together all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the melted ghee and stir again to distribute through the topping ingredients (the ghee will make the topping extra-crisp and tasty 😊).
- Add half the roasted pumpkin to the large bowl you set aside earlier. Squeeze the roasted garlic puree out of its skins and into the bowl with the pumpkin. Add half the can of butter beans, the bean liquid, milk, and 1 cup of reserved pasta water, Dijon mustard, nutmeg and vinegar. Use a stick blender to puree the mixture, making your sauce. (A stick blender makes light work and less cleaning up, but if you don't have one, you can use an upright blender instead.)
- Pour the golden pumpkin sauce into the saucepan you used for cooking the pasta. Stir over gentle heat, then add the second half of the roast, cubed pumpkin, the second half of the butter beans, shredded greens, and the grated cheese. Stir until heated through and the cheese has melted, then stir through the cooked pasta. It will look like a lot of sauce to start with, but the pasta will quickly gobble it up! Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. If the sauce looks too thick, add a little more of the reserved pasta water.
- Turn the oven down to 180°C (not fan-forced). Spoon the pumpkin and pasta mixture into a large casserole dish and smooth the top before sprinkling with the yummy topping. Bake for 20-30 minutes until heated all the way through and the top is crisp and golden.
- Serve with a green salad or steamed green veg on the side.
Recipe Note
Butternut Mac & Cheese will keep well, covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or steam oven to heat through, then pop under the griller for a few minutes to re-crisp the topping (watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn).
You can use any pumpkin you like, but we find butternut is often the sweetest - and it’s the easiest to peel.
Replace the butter beans with cannellini beans or chickpeas if that’s what you have in the pantry.
While the shredded greens aren’t essential, they add a punchy colour contrast to the golden sauce so it doesn’t look too same-same. Use any greens you have on hand.
