Harvest Moon Macaroni - Rachael Ray

Submitted by pwdcrazy

"This is Rachael Ray's recipe, and it is quite tasty! I am posting it the original recipe, but I used a full box of squash for only half the recipe, reduced the oil significantly, used 1% milk, and added sage rather than nutmeg, as I am not a fan of nutmeg. It still has a very creamy texture, without all the cheese of your regular mac and cheese."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 1 lb macaroni
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 1⁄2 cups whole milk
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• nutmeg, grated to taste
• 1 (10 ounce) box frozen butternut squash, defrosted
• 2 -3 dashes hot sauce, a few dashes
• 1 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated (sharp)
• fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

directions

1. Bring water to a boil, season with salt and cook macaroni to al dente.
2. Preheat broiler and place rack in middle of the oven.
3. Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a sauce pot over medium heat, saute onions and garlic until soft, 6 to 7 minutes and stir in the thyme.
4. Scoot onions off to side of pan and melt butter, whisk flour into butter and combine whisk 1 minute then whisk in stock and milk, season sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and cook until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Stir in butternut squash and a few dashes hot sauce. Reduce heat. When sauce comes to a bubble, stir in Parmigiano. Combine the sauce and macaroni, transfer to a casserole dish and top with shredded yellow Cheddar, chopped parsley and paprika. Brown the macaroni under broiler, 4 to 5 minutes until brown and bubbly.

Reviews

[sarajoturtle]

This was good, better than I expected, I used rice pasta, and arrow root powder as a thickener to make it gluten free. All the kids liked it, and adults too!

 

[LuuvBunny]

This was good,a nice way to get some butternut squash into a dish.I omitted the nutmeg because I find it too overpowering.Next time I make this I would also substitute the parmesan with mozza or just cut back on it a little.It made the entire dish too salty for me.I didn't have any onions on hand but I did have some leeks so I used that instead which was very good.

 

[Lori Mama]

Nice change of pace. I wasn't able to get the frozen squash, so made some fresh and pureed it. I omitted the hot sauce and used dried thyme, as my bush is berried under a foot of snow. LoL! Made for Food Network Challenge: HAIL TO THE CHEFS! :)

 

[cedarcape]

I made the recipe exactly as Rachel made it and it was delicious! A keeper for sure and so quick and easy!