Baked Shells with Winter Squash
- Comments()
- Prep Time 10 minutes
- Total Time 50 minutes
- Yield Serves 6
Ingredients
- Butter, for baking dish
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 pound small pasta shells
- 1 package (12 ounces) frozen winter squash puree, thawed
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 slices crusty baguette, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)
Directions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions; season with salt and pepper. Cover; cook until onions are soft and release liquid, 15 minutes. Uncover; raise heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until onions are browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon rosemary.
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Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes less than package instructions suggest. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking water. Return pasta to pot.
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Stir squash and reserved pasta water into onions; simmer 2 minutes. Toss squash mixture and 1/2 cup Parmesan with pasta. Transfer to prepared dish.
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Combine bread cubes with remaining Parmesan, rosemary, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Top pasta with bread cubes; bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
Great recipe. I pretty much did exactly as the recipe said with a few minor changes. I put the onions, squash, and 6oz of non-fat greek yogurt and pureed it before adding the parm. I then mixed it with elbow noodles and told my kids it was mac n cheese. They (11 and 7) both had two servings!
I made this with fresh squash by sauteeing the squash in with the onions, and adding a cup of chicken broth. Added great flavour! Everyone loved it :) Oh, and I pureed it with a hand-blender.
Not bad but very bland. You need to add salt and pepper. I would also add more rosemary next time.
This is fantastic and simple. Time consuming yes, but totally worth it!
I left out the bread and used 100% whole wheat shells. Delicious and not heavy!
This is an absolutely wonderful dish. I made it last night but changed the recipe a little because there are only two of us and because of the comments of it being a little dry. I used 1/2 lb of pasta, one onion, one tsp fresh chopped rosemary, salt, pepper, 2 tbsp olive oil, about 1 cup home made turkey stock, and 1 cup parmesan. I also used about 1/4 cup of my own homemade bread crumbs and a tiny bit more parmesan on top. I followed the directions with my changes and it was incredible.
Really great dish. My husband called it a sophisticated gourmet mac n' cheese. All of the flavors really complement each other. Pretty healthy, too, unless you eat too much of it like I did! Maybe adding some more squash puree, or chicken or veggie broth would help those who found it to be dry.
Wonderful flavor and a healthier alternative to the standard macaroni and cheese. However, mine was rather dry and I'd love to know a good way to make it more moist without sacrificing the taste.