Smoked Gouda Butternut Squash Baked Mac + Cheese

This recipe is inspired by Wishbone Kitchen’s Butternut Squash Mac + Cheese with Crispy Mushrooms.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of pasta (shape of your choice but I recommend something that has some shape or texture so the sauce can get all up in there)

• 1 whole butternut squash; cut in half and de-seeded

• 1/2 of a yellow onion; cut in half

• 6 cloves of garlic; with the

• 1 - 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock

• 1 and 1/2 cups of grated parmesan cheese - separated

• 1/2 heaping cup of smoked gouda; shredded

• 2 tbsp of olive oil - separated

• 3 tbsp of unsalted butter - separated into 1 tbsp and 2 tbsp

• 1/2 tsp of paprika

• 1/2 tsp of dried thyme

• pinch of cayenne

• pinch of red pepper flakes

• 1 1/2 tsp of kosher salt

• pepper to taste

• 2 cups of shiitake mushrooms; cut

Preheat your oven to 375F and prepare a large casserole dish. Set it aside for later.

On a cookie sheet lined with tin foil, add your halved butternut squash, onion and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil (about 1 tbsp) and salt and pepper. Bake for about 40 - 50 minutes or until you can put a fork through the squash. (Pull the onion and garlic out early if they are starting to burn).

While your veggies roast, heat 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Add in the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the mushrooms start to brown and crisp up. Set aside for later.

Let the squash, onions and garlic cool a bit and then add them to a blender with the chicken stock. Blend until you have a silky smooth butternut squash sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook your pasta al dente (about 2 minutes under the package’s suggested cooking time). Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.

Add the past back into your pot, and add in 2 tbsp of butter and fold in your butternut squash sauce. Season with the paprika, dried thyme, cayenne powder, red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. If your sauce seems too thick, loosen it up with the reserved pasta water until you have a nice consistency sauce. Adjust the flavor as needed.

Stir in your smoked gouda and the 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Stir in your cooked mushrooms.

Pour your pasta mixture into your prepped casserole pan and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of parm. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top starts to get crispy.