Baked pasta two ways

We don't eat pasta very often these days (alas), for the sake of Snark's pancreas, but when we have guests and want to make something we're sure everyone will love, it's hard to beat really good baked pasta with cheese. Bad cheesy pasta is gluey, or worse, runny, grainy, watery and lumpy. Bad cheesy pasta is too bland or too weird-tasting, and reminds the eater of cafeteria steam tables. But the good stuff is heavenly. Here are two equally delicious variations, one that's essentially the best macaroni and cheese I know, and one that's a little more chic and autumnal, with butternut squash.

This time of year, I like to get a squash and just bake it on the weekend, when I'm doing something else. Once it's cool, I scoop out the flesh and give it a rough mash. Then it goes into the fridge, all ready to be used in a recipe like this one. This baked pasta is rich and creamy, but never bland or soupy, with plenty of both crispy chewy top bits and pillowy inner bits. I like to serve it with lots of crisp salad -- with vinaigrette and thiny sliced red onions, please! -- and beer. I think that the first iteration of these recipes might have been something from an issue of Cook's Illustrated, but I like my way better than theirs, no matter how much they tested it. (So there!) It's a bit of work, but totally worth it. Serves 4-5 people.

Plain Old Cheesy Pasta

TOPPING
Some crackers and a tablespoon of butter, either run through the food processor together to make crumbs, or put in a bag and crushed with a rolling pin, then mixed with the softened butter.

PASTA AND CHEESE
1/2 lb pasta: macaroni, penne, shells, that kind of thing
Salt for the pasta water
1/2 t salt
2 T unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
3 T flour
1 t mustard
1 clove garlic, minced very fine
fat pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
2 c. whole milk (see note)
8-10 oz. cheese, grated: a combination of cheddar and monterey jack, or cheddar and gouda, is nice.
Throw in some goat cheese too, if you like.
3/4 c diced tomatoes

Preheat oven to 425. Prepare the cracker crumbs and set aside. Butter an 8" square baking dish. Cook the pasta until al dente.

Make your cheese sauce: heat butter and oil over medium-high heat until they begin to foam. Add the flour, mustard, and cayenne (if using) and combine with whisk. Go on whisking until mixture becomes fragrant and turns a toasty color, about one minute. Now add the milk in a slowish stream, whisking all the time. Bring the sauce to a boil, still whisking continually. Now you can reduce the heat to a simmer, and add the minced garlic. Whisk occasionally and cook for about five minutes more, until the sauce is about the consistency of heavy cream. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and salt until cheese is melted.

Add the pasta and tomatoes and turn the heat back on. Cook the whole mixture over medium-low heat for about five or six minutes, stirring constantly, until everything is heated through and steaming hot.

Transfer the pasta mixture to your baking dish and spread cracker crumbs over top. (Note: at this stage, you can cover the top with foil and refrigerate for up to three days before baking.) Bake. If you are doing this straight from the stove, cook uncovered just until the cracker crumbs turn toasty, and the cheese starts to bubble up, about ten minutes. If you want to bake from the fridge, first bake covered to heat through, about half an hour, and then remove the foil to brown. Again, remove from oven when bubbly and golden brown. Cool for five minutes before serving.

Penne alla Zucca

TOPPING
As above

SQUASH
1 small squash (about 1 lb), or 1 1/2 cups leftover baked squash

PASTA AND CHEESE
1/2 lb pasta, as above (but if you want it to be penne alla zucca, well, penne it must be)
Salt for the pasta water
1/2 t salt
2 T unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
3 T flour
2 cloves garlic, minced very fine
fat pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 t fennel pollen, if available
2 c. whole milk
8-10 oz. gruyere, emmenthaler, or Swiss cheese, grated

Prepare the cracker crumbs and set aside. Butter an 8" square baking dish. Preheat oven to 425. If you don't happen to have any leftover baked squash, cut a small winter squash in half, scoop out the seeds and bake, cut side down, on an oiled baking sheet, until soft. Remove from the oven. When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin. Break the flesh into small bite-sized pieces with the back of your spoon and set aside.

While the squash is baking and cooling, cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, and make your cheese sauce: heat butter and oil over medium-high heat until they begin to foam. Add the flour and cayenne (if using) and combine with whisk. Go on whisking until mixture becomes fragrant and turns a toasty color, about one minute. Now add the milk in a slowish stream, whisking all the time. Bring the sauce to a boil, still whisking continually. Now you can reduce the heat to a simmer, and add the minced garlic. Whisk occasionally and cook for about five minutes more, until the sauce is about the consistency of heavy cream. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and salt until cheese is melted.

Add the pasta and fennel pollen (if using) and turn the heat back on. Cook the whole mixture over medium-low heat for about five or six minutes, stirring constantly, until everything is heated through and steaming hot. Remove from heat, and crumble the squash into the pasta mixture. Mix with a light hand, so that the squash is evenly distributed, but still a bit clumpy.

Transfer the pasta mixture to your baking dish and spread cracker crumbs over top. (Note: at this stage, you can cover the top with foil and refrigerate for up to three days before baking.) Bake. If you are doing this straight from the stove, cook uncovered just until the cracker crumbs turn toasty, and the cheese starts to bubble up, about ten minutes. If you want to bake from the fridge, first bake covered to heat through, about half an hour, and then remove the foil to brown. Again, remove from oven when bubbly and golden brown. Cool for five minutes before serving.

Comments

[lindy (a/k/a Mum)]

Very, very cool photo.

Say, was the butter puff pastry you bought and mentioned earlier from Trader J's?

Saw PP in their circular and got very excited, as the oily Pepperidge Farm and king's ransom Williams-Sonoma have been the only ready mades available in these parts? Tried it yet? Was it good?

[redfox]

Nope, I got it at Whole Foods, and it's definitely expensive. It is good, though.

Re: the photo, thank you!

[none]

I got over to Trader Joe's and the puff pastry was all butter and $4 for 2 sheets. It's looking good...but unfortunately my crappy oven is broken, so I can't try it out right away.

[anapestic]

Wait a second. It's October. You can't use that it's-too-hot-to-make-my-own-puff-pastry excuse any more. We all know you know how. It's easy! It's cheap!

Do you find whole wheat pasta not worth bothering with? It never seems ideal to me, but it's not bad with lots of cheese.

[lindy (a/k/a mum)]

Ah,anapestic-a person can't always reach for the heights. I profited greatly from your tutorial on the subject myself...but if you can buy it for a reasonable price..I always say that if I lived in Paris, or San Francisco, I wouldn't bake bread, either. This TJ's stuff is good- it baked up nicely in my toaster oven, even,-good flavor. Not too pricey, and all butter. I'm just sayin'.

[---]

Is the type of squash interchangeable? My family likes zucchini, yellow summer squash, and butternut squash. But I know those vary quite a bit in water content and I'd think that could make a big difference in texture and cooking time. Sounds great, though!