Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Preheat the oven to 425°F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and grease a one quart baking dish.

Knowing that the bulb of the squash is a little trickier to cut into cubes for other dishes, I used 1/2 of it for this dish. Cut the bulbous portion of the squash from the neck and then cut the bulbous part in half. Scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the inside with a little olive oil and salt & pepper. Place half of the bulb cut side down on the baking sheet. (Save the rest of the squash for another dish or make more sauce and freeze for an easy dinner another time). Cut a shallot in half through the root, and place half on a piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, and wrap tightly. Place on the baking sheet and roast for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the squash is soft.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees if you are baking the dish today.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and only cook for three minutes. You want it undercooked so it does not break apart when it is baking. Reserve 1/2 cup (120 gm) of the starchy pasta water before draining. Set pasta aside while you prepare the sauce.

Measure 1/2 cup of the cooked, soft squash flesh and transfer to a blender with 1/4 cup of the pasta water and the roasted shallot. Blend until creamy.

Take the remaining 1/4 cup of pasta water and add the tapioca starch. Mix and set aside.

In the now empty pasta pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat and allow it to get foamy. Add the fresh rosemary, sage and thyme. Cook for a minute, allowing the butter to get a nutty brown being careful not to let it burn. Add in the onion, garlic and mustard powder, cooking another minute. Add in the butternut squash and balsamic vinegar. Add in the rice milk and heat to a simmer. Add your finely diced cheese, and allow to melt. Pour in your pasta and tapioca mix and whisk as the liquid starts to thicken. Add in the violife cream cheese and stir until blended. Add in the salt, pepper, dash of nutmeg and cayenne.

At this point, you can freeze or refrigerate the sauce and bake the dish later. If you are baking it now, add in the pasta. It will seem like an excessive amount of sauce, but the semi-cooked pasta will absorb a lot of it. Transfer to your buttered dish.

Combine your rough chopped dried stuffing or low pro breadcrumbs with the melted butter and a few grinds of pepper. Add on top of the pasta. Bake covered for 10 minutes. Remove the cover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let it sit 10 minutes before serving.