by merrill
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Photo by Sarah Shatz
1 3-4 pound cheese pumpkin or butternut squash Ask a question about this ingredient
Salt and freshly ground black pepper Ask a question about this ingredient
Olive oil Ask a question about this ingredient
1/4 pound pancetta, diced Ask a question about this ingredient
1 pound conchiglie rigate (shells) Ask a question about this ingredient
2 cups heavy cream Ask a question about this ingredient
1/4 pound shredded fresh mozzarella Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 cup fontina, coarsely grated Ask a question about this ingredient
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola Ask a question about this ingredient
2 tablespoons ricotta Ask a question about this ingredient
2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves Ask a question about this ingredient
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Halve the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Cut the pumpkin into 8 equal wedges and arrange on two baking sheets lined with foil. Sprinkle the wedges with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake for about an hour, until the pumpkin is caramelized and tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Remove from the oven and let cool until you can handle the pumpkin without burning yourself.
Ask a question about this stepIn the meantime, crisp the pancetta in a medium saucepan over medium heat, about 10 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels, discarding the fat.
Ask a question about this stepTurn the oven up to 500 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta for exactly 5 minutes, drain and run cool water over it for about 10 seconds. Set aside in the colander.
Ask a question about this stepScoop enough of the cooked pumpkin from the rind to make 2 cups. Combine this with the cream in a blender and puree just until smooth (be careful not to overblend, or you’ll whip the cream). Scoop out some more of the pumpkin (you probably won’t need the whole thing) and chop roughly to make about a cup and a half.
Ask a question about this stepCombine the pumpkin and cream puree with the cheeses, salt, thyme and pancetta in a large bowl and stir gently to combine. Add the pasta and the chopped pumpkin and fold together just until combined.
Ask a question about this stepSpread the pasta evenly in a casserole or baking dish. Bake uncovered for 7 to 10 minutes, until the top is browned and the bottom layer of pasta is just tender.
Ask a question about this stepI have your holiday ap. For Boxing Day Dinner I had this with Porchetta, made with a boned leg of pork,and my own blood orange and redonion salad. Huge hit.
A small group of us are doing a dinner at a homeless shelter next Tuesday. This will be on the menu, the Mozzarella not fresh, Pecorino Romano replaced by cheddar, gorgonzola by the Pecorino Romano. !/2 & 1/2for the cream. I'm sure these guys will think it is the best Mac n Cheese ever.
Hi Cal. Hi protein and veg. hidden.
I don't usually make baked pasta (can't wait that long to eat it), I think that I might try this one!
I just made this and it was a great fall dish! I had some collard greens that needed to get used up so I sliced them and added to the pasta at the end of the cooking time to quickly blanch them before baking with everything else.
I can't believe I have not commented on this dish. We have made it several times since your original post and love it. My husband says it is the best macaroni and cheese ever. I made this earlier this week and enjoyed the leftovers for several lunches. Today I still had some of the cheese chunks and roasted butternut squash leftover and I made a grilled cheese out of them. Awesome! I am still feeling guilty for eating the whole sandwich.
So glad you've been enjoying it! I'm thinking it's about that time again...
Butternut squash showed up at the farmers market this week, and I couldn't get your recipe out of my head. So we threw caution to the wind and savored this mac and cheese on a 104 degree day in late July. We all agreed it was the best we'd ever tasted. Thanks for the recipe!
I saw this recipe and knew that I had to try it, but couldn't stand the thought of 2 c of heavy cream in our main dish. So, I substituted low-fat cottage cheese and it worked great! I just pureed it with the squash. My kids loved this cheese and they both hate any kind of squash. I will be making this again for sure...
In regards to the cream substitute, I was thinking about using half milk and half cream in hopes of making it a little healthier. Do you think it would hard the texture too much? There's so much cheese I don't see how it would hurt.
This pasta is amazing! There seemed to be a little too much cheese mixture for the amount of pasta when I made it so when I make it next time I will try adding a bit more pasta, but the taste was out of this world!
Yay Al Forno! As a Rhode Islander living in California, I will be delighted to try this next time I'm homesick. Thanks for sharing.
I made a light version of this over the week by just sauteing red kuri squash puree with pasta + olive oil + a pat of butter + sage+ a little beaten egg. I put crushed walnuts on top of my dish, and my gentleman friend put some hot sauce on his. The squash puree makes this dish nice and creamy without being too heavy from the dairy (cheaper, too!).
Just made this today! Had to settle for canned pumpkin, as I couldn't find fresh pumpkins of any type....but it was still awesome!
Thanks Merrill! :-)
Not sure if you are online right now, but when you added salt with the cheeses and thyme, how much did you put in? I've just put in a few turns of my salt mill.... Thanks!
Good question, as I was wondering the same thing. Needed to add some after the prep, as I only put in a bit. Not a big deal...you can always add...but never remove!
So sorry, but I've been out of the country for 2 weeks -- I salt my pasta water generously and then salt to taste as I go. Best thing is to taste the pumpkin cheese mixture before you combine with the pasta.
do you think you could use evaporated milk or half and half in place of the cream?
I think half and half would be fine, but not sure about evaporated milk.
used to live in providence, i know how good al forno's is. this recipe did not disappoint. yum. after it was ready my party wasn't ready to eat, put foil on and kept in warm oven. i kept coming and sneeking a few bites before dinner was served, worth it get a little more. thanks