Fontina Baked Ziti With Squash

This is based on a recipe in a vegetarian cookbook given to me long ago, one of my first. This is definitely comfort food...cheesy, my kids like it. I've used whole wheat pasta, but of course you don't have to. Yellow squash seems to mean different things, you could use the crookneck type or yellow zucchini...or sub another type you favour. Mmmm...wish it were in the oven right now!

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  lb  uncooked ziti pasta, I like whole wheat but you could use regular
• 2  tablespoons butter (you could use all butter here if you wanted to)
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  small onion, finely chopped
• 2  garlic cloves (minced or pressed)
• 1  medium zucchini (coarsley grated or finely julienned)
• 1  medium  yellow squash (also coarsley grated or finely julienned)
• 1  cup  peeled seeded and grated fresh pumpkin
•  salt and pepper
• 3  tablespoons flour (any easy blending sort works best here)
• 2  cups milk, hot
• 8  ounces Fontina cheese, grated

• Optional

•  freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a few tsp of salt and the ziti to cook. Stir once or twice, should take about 7-8 minutes to cook al dente. Drain well and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
3. Melt 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften.
4. Add the zucchini, squash and pumpkin to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, and lower the heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes until the pumpkin is tender. Stir a few times while cooking so that it doesn't stick. Add this mixture to the pasta and give it a quick toss. Clean out your pot, you can use the same one for the next step.
5. Roux/Sauce: Melt the other tbsp of butter and other tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the butter is hot and melted, whisk in the flour until it completely incorporates with the butter/oil. Don't let it brown.
6. Turn your heat down and add about 1/4 cup of the hot milk, whisking the whole time. Once that is incorporated, add another 1/4 cup of milk and whisk it in until smooth. Keep going until you've added all of the milk and it's smooth. Bring the heat back up a bit and keep stirring, it will have the consistency of heavy cream. Stir in the fontina cheese.
7. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss well to combine. Pour the pasta mixture into a deep, lightly greased baking dish. Top with parmesan and bake for about 45 minutes until the top is brown and bubbly. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.