I found this recipe in Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel
on page 74. I actually stuck pretty close to the recipe this time!Pasta with butternut squash, tomato and cheese
- 1 small butternut squash (8 ounces), chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tiny pasta stars (I used little bitty tubes)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons milk
Steam or boil the butternut squash for 10 minutes or until tender (I steamed it). Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package, but without adding the salt to the water. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and saute the tomatoes until mushy.
(This just goes to show you how rarely I use tomatoes. I had no clue whatsoever how to peel or slice a tomato, so I ended up just ripping chunks out. That's what I ended up with. Oh well!)
Add the cheese to the saucepan and stir until melted. After I snapped this photo, I kept stirring until the cheese was all melted into a nice, smooth sauce. Don't leave your pan looking like this!! :)
Blend the cooked squash and tomato and cheese mixture together with the milk in your food processor or blender.
Stir the puree in with the pasta.
Transfer to containers for serving or freezing!
THE VERDICT: I'm going to have to make another batch of this again very soon, probably a double batch the next time. Micah gobbled this up. Hoovered it. Sowed down. I'm running out of euphamisms for how much he enjoyed eating this meal. The added texture was interesting to him, which just made him want it that much more. A definite winner!
