Fall Food: Dan Pelosi’s Pumpkin Mac & Cheese w/Butternut Squash and Brown Butter Sage Breadcrumbs
There comes a time in my life when I have too much cheese in my fridge, and the urge to make a big ol’ pan of macaroni and cheese takes hold of my heart. I’m always on the look out for new ways to make it and when I saw Dan Pelosi’s autumnal take on the classic, I immediately began to take stock of my cupboard and fridge to make sure I had the ingredients. Thankfully, I only had to pick up a few odds and ends. The end result is so luxurious tasting and satisfying, I can’t wait to make it again.
Instead of using a medium butternut squash, I used 2 small honeynut squash. They’re a lot easier for me to break down and peel, plus they have a beautiful earthy sweetness when they’re cooked. I cut them into small cubes, coated them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted them til they were golden and tender.
While the squash cooked, I made the brown butter sage breadcrumbs…which weren’t very brown butter-y because I wasn’t paying attention and threw in the panko just as the butter was melting. No matter! They still tasted amazing.
*Note: there is a typo in the recipe - you need four tablespoons of sage total. Two tablespoons go in the breadcrumbs and two go in the cheese sauce. Thanks for confirming, Dan!!
I put on some cavatappi pasta (my favorite shape for mac and cheese, you can use elbows) to cook while I made the cheese sauce. The base is a very classic béchamel fortified with aged cheddar, parmesan, pumpkin puree, fresh sage and nutmeg. I thought a whole teaspoon of it would be too much - turns out it was just enough to add a rounded warmth to all of the squash and cheese.
All there was left to do was add the al dente cooked pasta and honeynut squash to the sauce. I tucked the pasta into a buttered 9x13 pan and sprinkled a little more than half the breadcrumbs on top.
And this is how it looked after twenty minutes in a 425 degree oven:
WHEWWWWW. Longest 10 minutes of my life waiting for that to cool! But, who wants to eat dinner with a burnt tongue? Not I. Paired with a crisp white wine, this was a perfect fall meal. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers!
