‘The secret ingredient is always cheese’
My culinary kids’ class has resumed at the Rye Recreation centre. The youngest kids are 5 and the oldest 9. They are enthusiastic chefs but reluctant tasters. Every week I make a dish with carbohydrates, protein and veggies and they often ask me if they can skip eating one of the food groups. My best tactic is to make something that is different but seems familiar.
This week we made pasta with a cheese sauce made of ricotta and parmesan. They were reluctant to taste the separate ingredients but once mixed into the pasta they love the ‘mac and cheese’. It’s easy and ever so creamy, I don’t think I’ll ever make mac and cheese the American way again. The kids were not impressed with the butternut squash, noting that they had only ever seen a pumpkin, but since it caramelizes somewhat when roasted, those that tried it loved it and those that didn’t received it in their takeaway containers anyway.
The recipe is amazing, please excuse the picture, quickly taken at the end of class.
Ingredients:
- 1lb Orecchiette
- 1cup/8oz whole-milk ricotta
- 1cup/2oz freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino (2 ounces)
- 1 cup, diced butternut squash
- 4-5 sage leaves
- EVOO
- Salt
Method
- Roast the butternut squash with the sage in 1 tbsp. EVOO at 400F, until soft, c. 15 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- In the same pot, make the sauce: Add the ricotta, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and stir until well combined.
- Add ½ cup pasta water to the sauce and stir until smooth. Add the pasta and continue to stir vigorously until the noodles are well coated. Add more pasta water as needed for a smooth sauce.
- Add the roasted squash and top each bowl with the sage
