Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese

The squash in this dish gives the macaroni and cheese an authentic look. And by "authentic," I mean "orange." A Trojan cow sneaking in more than dairy. If only I had thought of this in 2007! I could have gotten in on this sneaky scandal.

But looks aside, I'm not actually convinced this dish would fool anyone. As my husband said, if he were a kid who came to my house for dinner, he'd wonder what kind of weird macaroni and cheese I was serving. Weird=delicious in this case. Slightly sweet, with a nice tang from the aged cheddar and a subtle underlay of sage.

2 1/2 pound butternut squash
4 shallots, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
2 cups grated cave aged cheddar
3/4 pound macaroni or other noodle of your choice
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Slice each half crosswise into inch-thick strips. Lay these in a roasting pan with the shallots and garlic. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, until the flesh of the squash is very tender.

While the squash is roasting, put some water on to boil. Boil the pasta until al dente.

When the squash is cooked, remove it from the oven and scrape the flesh from the peel. Set aside. Roughly chop the shallots and garlic.

Melt 1 tb of the butter in a large pot. Toss in the shallots, garlic, sage, and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle in the flour, and stir for a minute or so, until the flour is cooked. Pour in the milk and continue stirring for a couple minutes more. Don't worry if it doesn't thicken much; the squash will take care of that. Add the cooked squash to the milk mixture and mash. Melt in the cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Add the macaroni to the squash mixture and stir to combine. You can stop here if you wish. Otherwise, turn your oven down to 375 degrees F.

Melt the second tablespoon of butter and stir in the breadcrumbs until combined. Spoon the macaroni mixture into baking dishes, top with breadcrumbs, then bake for 10-15 minutes until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown.

Serves 6.