Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Growing up, homemade mac and cheese was a special treat and my mom always topped it with Ritz crackers. I loved the baked pasta effect, almost too cooked, with creamy sauce and crunchy, salty topping. When I went to grad school, a classmate shared Chef John’s Mac and Cheese recipe which is the basis of every mac and cheese I’ve made since. I love his combo of spices and flavourings to the bechamel, pre-cheese. I don’t always have all of his spices on hand, so I’ve simplified it down to the main flavourings that I think make a difference to a great base sauce. 

I love how butternut squash adds a gentle sweetness to the sauce which gets balanced by the nuttiness of the cheese, the savoury of the dijon, and the spice from the hot sauce. It’s creamy, saucy, warm, comforting - everything you need for a pandemic baked pasta. I don’t have kids but I have been cooking for my father for the last three months, who has a very similar aversion to vegetables that TV shows make it seem like 4-year-olds have, and let me tell you - he didn’t even know there was butternut squash in there! It’s sneakily the same colour as cheddar cheese so it just makes it seem extra cheesy while adding in all those extra nutrients for the children (and adults) in your life.

During the pandemic, I have really been seeking comfort food, which this past year has been the form of pasta. I pretty much make a pasta dish at minimum once a week, and this baked butternut squash mac and cheese has been a go-to. You can halve the recipe if cooking for a smaller household, or freeze half (before baking) in an 8x8 tin foil pan for an easy weekday meal for future you.

Tips for this recipe:

Cook out the flour

The sauce starts by cooking out the flour with your butter. It’s ok if it seizes up a bit when you add in the spices, I’ve never had an issue with my roux breaking down smoothly into the milk later on, no matter how crumbly it gets. I like to let my flour/butter mixture deepen in colour so I know the flour is really cooked out - there’s nothing worse than a raw flour flavour!

Add your spices and flavourings to your roux before the milk

Once my butter/flour looks toasty, I add the dried spices, mustard and Worcestershire sauce to the roux. Allowing spices to toast in fat brings out more flavour - adding them now vs once there’s milk will deepen their flavour!

Whisk well when you add in the milk

When you add in your milk, whisk really, really well to ensure the roux breaks down smoothly into the liquid. If your milk is cold it will take some time for it to heat through. Once it does, continue to whisk until thickened.

Don’t overcook your macaroni!

Since you are going to mix your noodles with the sauce and bake in the oven, the noodles will continue to cook. It’s really critical to cook your macaroni a little under so you don’t end up with noodle mush after it bakes. I usually shave off 1 minute from the package's recommended time. Use a timer!

Butternut squash vs other squashes

You can sub in any squash into this recipe - I’ve made it before with acorn squash and it was delicious. Every squash has a slightly different flavour profile and water content, but this recipe flexes to work with them all.

Roast your squash early in the day

Roasting your squash is pretty hands-off, so popping it in the oven early in the day makes the rest of the prep feel less overwhelming. You can store the squash in the fridge until ready to use!

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Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

1 hour for roasting squash, 50 mins for the rest of the recipe!

Ingredients

500 g macaroni noodles, cooked according to package instructions less 1 minute

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 tbsp dijon mustard

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dried thyme

½ - 1 tsp Tabasco hot sauce (or other vinegar-based hot sauce)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 cups of milk (1% or above)

1 cup roasted squash, mashed until smooth (instructions below)

1 ½ cup grated old cheddar cheese

1 cup of Ritz crackers, crumbled (20-ish crackers)

Freshly cracked black pepper

A drizzle of olive oil

Method:

Prep your squash: This step can be done up to 2 days before, with mashed squash stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise, removing the seeds with a spoon. Place face down on a parchment/silicone mat lined cookie sheet and roast at 400F for 40-60 mins (depends on the size of the squash) until fork tender. Other ways to tell if it’s done: skin is lifting from the flesh and some caramel appears on the cookie sheet. Set aside to cool before mashing. 

1. When you’re ready to start prepping your meal, start by getting your noodles ready and continue the other steps at the same time: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season well with salt. Cook pasta according to the package, minus 1 minute, as your pasta will continue to cook in the oven. Drain (do not rinse!). 

2. In a medium pot add your flour and butter and heat over medium heat. Once the butter melts whisk together to form a thin paste and allow it to cook for 3-5 minutes until it deepens in colour and the butter is visibly sizzling.

3. Add in your seasonings: dijon mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, dried thyme, tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and whisk/stir into your flour/butter mixture. Continue cooking for 2 mins.

4. Pour in your milk and whisk well until roux breaks down fully into the milk and it appears smooth. Continue to heat over medium heat, whisking periodically. Once the milk reaches full temperature the sauce will begin to thicken. Continue to whisk until you feel a pull in the sauce while you whisk, or until it coats the back of a spoon.

5. Taste the sauce - does it taste good? Does it need some salt to bring out the flavours? You are about to add in some unseasoned squash so you want the sauce before cheese and squash to taste really good! Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Remove sauce from heat and stir in grated cheese + mashed squash. Continue to stir until smooth - it may look a little streaky from the squash (there’s water content in the squash so it can make your sauce appear slightly split but it will be ok!).

7. Combine your cheese sauce with your prepared noodles in an oven-safe baking dish (casserole dish - my 2.8L casserole dish works perfectly). Top with your crushed ritz crackers, a good amount of freshly cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.

8. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbling! Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes before serving to allow the sauce to set. Enjoy!

Baked Salmon with Mango Salsa

This is a meal that is in my weekly rotation, and I’ve been meaning to share it on here for a long time. I went back through my phone to upload the photos for this post, as I remember shooting this dish and drafting the recipe last year. Weirdly enough, these photos are from March 1, 2020. It’s funny to think about what life was like then - I had just moved into my own apartment and I remember being really busy with work because we had a big campaign launching later that week. I ran out of time to finish typing up the recipe on the weekend, and then the next two weeks were a bit of a blur. Between work and the changing world around us, I remember feeling overwhelmed by everything. I definitely had a lot of time in those first few weeks of lockdown to finish this recipe, but I did not have the motivation to work on anything long-form. So here we are, almost a year later, with the recipe ready to share and a bizarre feeling thinking about how different life was before the pandemic.

This dish was a go-to meal growing up, we probably ate it once a week in the summer. The mango salsa is so fresh, it pairs perfectly with the fatty salmon. Sometimes in the summer, we would do the fish on the BBQ in tin foil packets, with salt and pepper, lemon slices on top. Although it’s a summer dish, I enjoy this year-round to bring some brightness to my week.

Salmon is a great fish for carrying a lot of flavour, and it doesn’t taste too “fishy”. The salsa is so colourful, and since it’s packed with flavour you don’t need to do much to the salmon (just salt and pep!). I sometimes double the salsa recipe so that I have leftovers, which are great to top tacos or use as a dip with tortilla chips. The salsa will hold up well in the fridge for multiple days (3-5). You could add in some diced avocado as well to add in some creaminess if having it as a dip.

Here are a few tips and alternatives for the recipe:

Salmon:

If you can, try to source local and Oceanwise labelled fish. The recipe also works great with other pink-fleshed fish like trout if you live far from the ocean. 

Mango: 

If you aren’t able to source a ripe mango, you could also swap in pineapple. I would say half a fresh pineapple would yield roughly the same amount as a mango.

• To slice a mango, I follow this method here: slice straight on each side of the pit, then run the knife into a grid in the flesh (without piercing the skin) and scoop out from the skin.

Red pepper:

Adds a gentle spice to the salsa, a bit of bite to cut through the sweetness of the mango. You could swap in another coloured pepper, like orange or yellow. I would avoid green since it will add a really different flavour.

Red onion:

If you don’t have a red onion on hand, a shallot would work great. I have also made this salsa using green onion, just ensure you use the whole thing (including the white part) to get that sharp onion flavour.

Cilantro:

If you are cilantro-adverse, you could fully omit or you could switch in another soft herb like parsley or mint. 

How to serve:

I love this with steamed rice, and a roasted green veggie, like broccoli or asparagus. I like to fluff my rice with a little bit of coconut oil and salt and pepper for a gentle coconut flavour with the fish. 

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Baked Salmon with Mango Salsa

Serves 4, 30 mins

Ingredients:

4 fresh Atlantic salmon portions (or other pink fish of your choice - trout works great too!)

1 mango, diced

½ a red pepper, diced

¼ a red onion, finely diced

¼ cup of fresh cilantro (optional), finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime (roughly 2 tbsp lime juice)

¼ tsp kosher salt

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. 

2. Place fish fillets on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or another oven safe dish. Lightly season with salt and pepper right before putting in the oven (do not do this too early or your fish will break down)

3. Meanwhile, mix together all of the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust your seasoning - if it tastes too sweet add a little more salt until the savouriness of the pepper and onion comes through.

4. Cook the salmon until opaque and flaky, about 15-20 minutes depending on how thick the salmon is. I like to test my salmon with a cake tester to see how easily it flakes. It should flake without much pressure.

5. Remove salmon from the oven and serve with rice, topped with mango salsa. I prefer the salsa room temperature or cool from the fridge.

Mushroom Tourtiere

Meat pies have always been a Christmas tradition in our house. I remember my grandmother used to make rabbit pies on Christmas Eve - she always told me my piece of pie was from the “chicken” pie, bless her. As I got older and more interested in cooking, as well as our Acadian background, I started making tourtieres to enjoy on December 23rd. A new tradition was born, and each year the “tourtiere” night grew as well. One of my dear friends who attends every year is vegetarian, so I’ve been playing around with a veggie tourtiere recipe for the past few Christmases. I wanted it to have the same warming flavour as tourtiere, and for the filling to have a similar texture. The different mushrooms add savouriness, and the variety of nuts add texture (and nuttiness!). Since mushrooms and nuts can be a bit one-note in flavour, I have added a balsamic maple reduction to drizzle over the filling right before it’s baked so that every bite tastes a little different. Some bites you’ll get the reduction, others will just be mushrooms. A new adventure every time! 

Tips for the pie

Cut everything into equal sizes

To replicate the texture of a pie with ground meat, I try to cut my mushroom, celery, leeks and nuts into relatively equally small pieces. This gives it a bit of a crumbly texture, and then the grated potato with the broth helps hold the filling together.

Do not disturb the mushrooms

Mushrooms have the ability to get a deep brown colour to them if they aren’t fussed with too much. Once you add in your mushrooms to the pan, walk away! It’s always tempting to stir and move around food in a pan, but letting the mushrooms sit undisturbed will allow them to get a nice, deep colour (which means more flavour!).

Serve it with a nice, bright salad

The pie is pretty heavy, so a bright, acidic salad will pair well with this. My Go-To Winter Salad is a perfect partner. Even some simple arugula dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper would be great! 

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Mushroom Tourtiere

Makes 1 x 8 inch pie, or 2 x 4 inch mini pies

2 hours total, assuming your pie crust dough is ready/chilled

Ingredients:

Filling:

1-2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

3-4 cups of diced mixed mushrooms - (I did 1 portobello mushroom, 1 large oyster mushroom and 1 pint of shiitake)

2 celery stalks, finely diced

1 leek, sliced

¼ cup chopped pecans

¼ cup chopped walnuts

½ tsp dried thyme

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

⅛ tsp ground clove

⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

1 potato, grated

⅓ cup vegetable broth

2 pie crusts (here are my two go-to recipes: all butter or butter/shortening)

Optional: balsamic maple reduction

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup

Optional: egg wash

1 egg

2 tsp water

Method:

Make the filling:

1. In a cast-iron pan or frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add in your leek and celery, cooking for 3-5 mins until softened. Season with a pinch of salt.

3. Add in your mixed mushrooms. DO NOT DISTURB. Allow to brown on one side for 4-5 mins before stirring. Then DO NOT DISTURB. If you move mushrooms too much they release liquid and steam vs. brown. Once your mushrooms are perfectly browned, move to the next step.

4. Add in your chopped nuts and spices, giving a gentle stir to allow everything to mix together. This is where you could add in the extra 1 tbsp of butter if needed.

5. After everything is nice and toasty (3-5 mins), add in your grated potato and vegetable broth. Stir to distribute the potato throughout the filling and cover with a lid for 8-10 mins, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the potato is cooked.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning - does it need more salt? More pepper perhaps? Continue to taste and season until it tastes yummy. Set aside.

Make the balsamic maple reduction:

• Bring balsamic vinegar and maple syrup to a boil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Keep an eye on it. It will eventually start to thicken, around the 5-minute mark. Remove from heat.

To assemble the pie:

• Fit the pie crust into the 8-inch pie pan.

• Add in your mushroom/nut/potato filling. Drizzle the balsamic maple reduction on top of the filling.

• Top with the second pie crust, sealing your edges and crimping in the style you prefer. 

• Cut three air holes into the top of the pie.

• Place the pie in the fridge for minimum 30 mins to allow the pie crust to firm up again. If you put a warm pie crust in the oven you will have a shrunken pie!

To bake the pie:

• Preheat oven to 375F.

• In a bowl whisk together 1 egg with 2 tsp of water. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash.

• Bake pie for 45 mins - 60 mins until the crust is evenly golden on top and bottom!

• Serve warm with maple syrup.

Glazed Chicken Meatballs

These chicken meatballs are moist, flavourful and just.. so good! I’ve been making them weekly, often serving them with roasted veggies or a side salad. You can play around with the spice combo, but overall the ratios below are perfect. The key to these meatballs is mixing together the egg, panko and spices before adding in the meat. This allows for the spices to be evenly distributed and avoids overmixing the ground chicken. They are glazed versus super sauce-y, so they would also make a great appetizer at a gathering.

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Glazed Chicken Meatballs

Serves 4, 30 mins

 Ingredients:

1 package of ground chicken

½ cup panko crumbs

1 egg

½ tsp of each: garlic powder, paprika OR curry powder, red pepper flakes (OR ¼ tsp if you don’t like spicy things), kosher salt

Pepper

¼ cup of jelly/jam (grape, fig or quince are best!)

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp water

Method: 

1. Mix together the egg, panko and spices until well mixed. Add ground chicken and mix until the breadcrumb mixture is well distributed. Roll into meatballs the size of your choice – I like 1.5 tbsp ish!

2. Heat non-stick pan to medium heat, add 2 tsp of olive oil. Brown the meatballs, turning often to maintain their round shape. Continue to cook until cooked through (165F meat thermometer) - typically 12-15 minutes for the size above. While the meatballs are cooking, make the glaze!

3. Mix together the glaze (you can use boiled water if you need help breaking down the jelly).

4. Once the meatballs are cooked through, pour the glaze into the pan and continue to cook until it thickens and coats all the meatballs. If you want it more sauce-y you can add water a tbsp at a time to the pan!

Red Lentil Tomato Soup

The ultimate comfort food for me is tomato soup. When I’m upset or stressed, there is nothing better than a nostalgic tomato soup. There is a restaurant near my apartment that used to have an amazing tomato soup on their menu, and they always topped it with fresh ricotta. I took a page out of their book with mine this week, but a delicious grilled cheese would also go perfectly on the side. Added in red lentils to keep it hearty and a bit more filling than the classic!

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Red Lentil Tomato Soup

Serves 4, 30-45 mins cook time

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

2 carrots, diced

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 x 28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes (ideally San Marzano)

1.5 cups water

Parmesan rind (optional)

1/2 cup red lentils

1 cup milk

1 tsp dried basil (or handful of fresh!)

Salt n pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and carrots and sautee until onions are softened (5-7 mins).

2. Add smoked paprika and let it cook out for 1-2 mins.

3. Add canned tomato, water and stir. Cover and simmer until carrots are tender. If you have a Parmesan rind in your freezer, add it now!

4. Once carrots have softened, add red lentils, stir and cover for another 15 mins or until lentils are soft.

5. Remove parm rind and transfer to a blender (or use a hand blender!). Add milk and basil and blend until smooth.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning.

7. Serve with fresh ricotta, olive oil or other topping of choice (perhaps, grilled cheese?!)