The 1-Ingredient Improve for the Creamiest Mac and Cheese

I at all times preserve a field of pasta in my pantry and a number of other sorts of cheeses in my fridge. That signifies that once I do not know what to make for dinner, I often find yourself making mac and cheese. Once I’m brief on time, it’s former culinary director Kenji’s three-ingredient stovetop mac and cheese, which is easy, satisfying, and takes simply 10 minutes to whip up. However when I’ve the luxurious of time and wish to go all out—whether or not for my family or for a vacation occasion—I’ll put together a wealthy, creamy baked macaroni and cheese, full with a crispy, buttery breadcrumb topping. Lately, my Birmingham, Alabama-based take a look at kitchen colleague Julia Levy impressed me to attempt one thing totally different: an expensive autumnal tackle baked mac with butternut squash combined proper in with the pasta.

Along with baked after which puréed butternut squash, Julia’s recipe requires not one however three totally different sorts of cheese: fontina, extra-sharp cheddar, and Gruyère. Every cheese performs a job—the fontina provides silkiness, the cheddar an exquisite tanginess, and the Gruyère its signature nuttiness—they usually work collectively to enrich the naturally candy and earthy flavors of the butternut squash. Earlier than being baked, the casserole is topped with buttery sage breadcrumbs for a crispy topping that tastes and smells like the vacations.  The consequence? A scrumptious, comforting casserole that my family and friends are already requesting on repeat. And much more nice information: The casserole might be prepped and refrigerated or frozen days (or months) upfront, making it good for getting forward on vacation cooking. 

6 Keys to Making the Finest Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

1. Use ripe butternut squash. For the sweetest taste, attain for a ripe gourd. Sadly, you possibly can’t inform a squash’s ripeness by contact, nevertheless it ought to really feel heavy for its measurement and sound hole when tapped along with your knuckles—and whenever you lower into the squash, the flesh ought to be a deep orange coloration.
2. For simpler slicing, microwave your squash first. Butternut squash might be massive and unwieldy. To make it simpler to halve, use a fork or sharp paring knife to poke holes throughout—then place the gourd on a big plate and microwave on excessive till simply tender sufficient to chop by means of simply, three to 5 minutes. As soon as it’s cool sufficient to deal with, you possibly can slide your knife proper in to halve the squash.
3. For the creamiest mac and cheese, use a béchamel sauce as your base. As our editorial director Daniel wrote in his béchamel recipe, this luscious French sauce is mainly “simply milk that’s been thickened with a roux constructed from roughly equal components of butter and flour,” with a contact of salt, black pepper, and grated nutmeg stirred in. As fancy because the sauce sounds, it’s quite simple to organize: Make the roux by whisking flour into melted butter, then slowly and steadily add your milk. Simmer till thickened, season to style, and that’s all there’s to it.
4. Add a contact of mustard. To chop by means of the richness of the cheese and supply a balanced taste, we incorporate a contact of Dijon mustard, which supplies the pasta a pleasant sharpness.
5. Go all out on the cheese. We initially began with fontina and extra-sharp cheddar, however felt that the mac and cheese wanted extra oomph. Although we had been fearful that Gruyère would make the casserole barely too funky (if that is actually attainable), it gave the pasta a nice nuttiness that complemented the squash’s candy and earthy taste, taking it from “nice” to “holy cow, that is superior,” in keeping with one taster. Have a favourite cheese you wish to use? Be at liberty to make use of it instead of any of the cheeses—simply be sure it’s a semidry cheese like Swiss, Comté, or emmentaler. Keep away from moisture-heavy cheeses, resembling recent mozzarella or goat cheese, which can end in a waterlogged casserole.
6. High it with a buttery panko combination. Mac and cheese is scrumptious by itself, nevertheless it’s even higher whenever you garnish it with a topping of herby panko breadcrumbs tossed in butter. Because the casserole bakes, the breadcrumbs grow to be golden brown and crisp, giving every chunk a satisfying crunch.