Get the Recipe: Baked Butternut Squash, Kale, and Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 cups butternut squash, diced into small bite size pieces
- 8 ounces cremini mushroom, quartered
- a good drizzle olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 9 ounces pasta, I used Malfalda, (other substitutes would be campanelle, ziti, rigatoni, penne)
- 4 cups kale, thinly sliced (I used curly kale)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- a pinch red chili flakes
- 3 tablespoons unbleached flour
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- 3 to 4 ounces gruyere cheese, grated (reserve 1 ounce to put on top)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated (you'll need a little more to add to the top)
Equipment
- Baking Dish
- Large Skillet
Instructions
Prepare the Butternut Squash and Mushrooms:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Add your butternut squash and mushrooms into your baking dish and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with dried Italian herbs and a little salt and pepper. Mix that well together and place in to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes on top rack of oven. Check half way through and give it a stir. Once done, pull out of the oven and set to the side, but leave oven on.
Prepare the pasta and kale:
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package, but just until almost done or al dente, because it will be cooked in oven as well and we don't want to over cook it. Take a measuring cup and pull out 1 cup of pasta water and set it to the side. Place a colander in the sink and transfer the kale to the colander. Now drain the pasta directly over the kale. This will wilt the kale. Give it a stir and set it to the side.
Make the sauce:
- In a large skillet, over medium-low heat, add in the butter. Once melted, add in the garlic and chili flakes and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in the flour and stir until slightly golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the milk, dijon mustard, garlic powder and continue to stir until the sauce begins to slowly thicken. Stir in the gruyere cheese and parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Continue stirring until the cheese if fully melted.
Assemble the dish:
- Pour the pasta, kale, mushrooms, butternut squash, and pasta water into the sauce and stir until your mixture is fully incorporated. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer that mixture into the baking dish that you were using. Don't worry about cleaning it out before hand.
- Now sprinkle the top with a little bit more of gruyere cheese and parmesan cheese. Place your dish on the top rack in your oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the top is golden and melted.
- To serve, add a little more parmesan cheese on top, if desired and enjoy!
Calories: 521kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 58mg, Sodium: 843mg, Potassium: 1030mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 14939IU, Vitamin C: 68mg, Calcium: 650mg, Iron: 3mg