| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 25 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- One 10-ounce box frozen butternut squash puree
- 1 pound rigatoni with lines
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon EVOO
- 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 cups sharp yellow Cheddar
- 1 cup shredded Pecorino Romano cheese
- Flat leaf parsley, chopped
- Fennel and Celery Slaw, for serving, recipe follows
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon grated shallot
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup EVOO
- 1 cup coarsely chopped parsley tops
- 4 ribs celery and leafy tops, very thinly sliced
- 1 large or 2 medium bulbs fennel, very thinly sliced, plus a handful of fronds, chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Toasted pistachios or walnuts, chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Defrost the squash puree in a microwave and place in a strainer to drain.
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water to al dente, 7 to 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the skillet, crumble and brown. Add the garlic, onions and thyme and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine.
- Preheat the broiler with a rack in the upper third of the oven.
- Melt the butter in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and thicken to coat a spoon. Stir in the butternut squash and bring the sauce back to a bubble and melt in the Cheddar.
- Toss the pasta, sauce and sausage to combine. Top with the Pecorino Romano and parsley and broil to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the Fennel and Celery Slaw.
- Combine the honey, vinegar and shallot with the lemon juice and whisk in the EVOO. Add the parsley, celery and fennel and toss to coat and combine. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange on a platter and top with the toasted nuts.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1039 |
| Total Fat | 54 g |
| Saturated Fat | 24 g |
| Carbohydrates | 91 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8 g |
| Sugar | 19 g |
| Protein | 46 g |
| Cholesterol | 121 mg |
| Sodium | 1262 mg |
Reviews
We really liked it. Nice way to add veg to Mac and cheese
This dish was simply delicious. The only thing I did different was use half & half. This is a Keeper & repeater
M
I initially made this when the butternut squash wasn’t available and subbed baby food purée. It turned out fantastic. I didn’t think my fiance liked it, but I had frozen the remaining dinner in portion sized vacuumed bags and dug one out last week. He raved about how great the dinner was. I will definitely make again and again. Thanks! It’s now a keeper.
Excellent taste and total cooking time for me was 40 minutes pretty darn close to 30min. My husband deeemed this a save thanks Rachael!
Amazing-lots of flavors and a favorite for sure. Yummo!
I would love to know the size of the pots and pans being used in food demonstrations. Thank you.
wow, restaurant quality meal! I had pumkin from my garden instead of squash.. excellent taste. Reminds me of squash ravioli with cheese sauce.. sooooo good !
What is “EVOO”?
Excellent!! Wouldn’t change a thing. I would eat pasta 3 times a day 7 days a week if I could. That said I think her staff needs to organize her tools and return them to the same place after each show. She looks bad searching around her kitchen looking for items that any cook knows is used frequently.
She mentioned that some items don”t take 30 minutes and it appeared that this was one of those. Rather than repeat herself several times I think the time would have been better served adding an easy / quick dessert to the menu.
Although a fabulous meal, not one of her better shows.