Recipes: Butternut Squash Faux-Macaroni

Earlier this week, my mom was visiting and she told me about a show called The Taste. All you need to know is it's produced by Anthony Bourdain. Normally, I'm not one for reality shows, but before I knew it we were binge-watching the whole season via on-demand. One challenge featured a "guilty pleasure" challenge, where the contestants had to create one of their own dishes they considered guilt-worthy.

I started to ponder what mine would be, as the list is quite extensive: all Mexican food? all Italian food? fried chicken? any and all candy/chocolates/pastries/carbs/etc? Then I considered what I immediately gravitate to on menus but rarely let myself order: macaroni and cheese (pronounced "macaroni and cheeeeEEEse!!"). Preferably one that includes some form of pork and/or lobster. I always hope that someone else at the table will order it so I can sneak bites (if we ever dine together, I'm real into sharing). I quickly realized that mac n' cheese would have totally been my guilty pleasure dish had I been a contestant.

Inspired by this, I decided to make a slightly less guilty version of mac n' cheese by swapping the cheese for squash! It ended up being still very much rich and creamy; I did opt to add in a small amount of cream but I'm sure it would still be great without it.

Get your "not guilty" plea on, after the jump!


1/2 butternut squash, cut into 1" pieces
2 large handfuls spinach
1/2 yellow onion (honestly, use whatever type of onion you have on hand)
5 cloves garlic
2 servings pasta (about 1 cup, I used gemelli)
coconut oil (or any type of cooking oil you prefer)
milk/cream (if you prefer, not necessary)
salt & pepper
cinnamon
cumin
cayenne pepper
freshly grated parmesan

Serves 2.

~Fill a medium saucepan about 2/3 with water, add about 1 tsp of salt and boil water. Cook squash until tender; test by seeing if squash is easily pierced by the tip of a sharp knife. Remove with a slotted spoon, place in colander to cool.

~Using the same hot water from in the squash that's still in the saucepan, add pasta and cook according to package directions and/or your own liking.

~While pasta is cooking, transfer butternut squash to a bowl. Add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the water that the pasta is boiling in (yes, you read that right). Purée the squash with an immersion blender, or a potato masher if you'd like a workout. You could also use a normal blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding more pasta water if necessary.

~Also while pasta is cooking, add 2 tsp coconut oil to a medium-to-large skillet over a medium flame. Finely chop and mince onion and garlic, add to skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add spinach, continue to cook until spinach has wilted down.

~If you wish, at this point add about 1/4 cup milk or cream to the skillet, stir to mix in and reduce for about a minute. Add puréed butternut squash to skillet, stirring together until a creamy, cheese-like consistency develops.

~Season to taste with salt, pepper, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and cumin (if you're feeling funky). Add more milk/cream or water if the sauce is too thick.

~Add cooked, drained pasta noodles to skillet and stir until pasta is evenly covered. Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

xo
Amanda Q