Bacon and Butternut Pasta

According to Cooking Light: Broth, thickened with flour and enriched with crème fraîche, forms the savory sauce in this dish. We like the earthy heartiness of kale, which helps balance the sweetness from the squash. You could also use Swiss chard, or for a more peppery bite, try substituting mustard greens.

We made several alterations to this recipe: 1. cut it in half (to make 4 servings), 2. elbow macaroni in place of ziti, 3. mustard greens in place of kale (we'd wanted to use Swiss chard, but the commissary didn't have any), 4. 12 oz. of chopped ham (from yesterday's Easter feast) instead of bacon, and 5. fat free cream cheese instead of crème fraîche. Even with all these adjustments, this recipe was delicious! It'll definitely go in our repertoire of ways to use leftover holiday ham!

Yield: Serves 8 (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)

Total: 1 Hour, 15 Minutes 

Ingredients:

• 5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Cooking spray 
• 12 ounces uncooked ziti (elbow macaroni)
• 4 cups chopped kale (mustard greens or Swiss chard)
• 2 bacon slices (12 oz. cooked ham, chopped)
• 2 cups vertically sliced onion 
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided 
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• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 cup crème fraîche (cream cheese)
• 1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine squash and oil in a large bowl; toss well. Arrange squash mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until squash is tender.
3. Cook pasta 7 minutes or until almost al dente, omitting salt and fat. Add kale (mustard greens) to pan during last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta mixture.
4. Cook bacon (ham) in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon (ham) from pan; crumble (obviously not ham). Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
5. Bring 1 3/4 cups broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Combine remaining 1/4 cup broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to broth. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; stir in crème fraîche (cream cheese).
6. Combine squash, pasta mixture, bacon (ham), onion mixture, and sauce in a large bowl; toss gently. Place pasta mixture in a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until bubbly and slightly browned.

This information pertains to the original CL recipe:
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 388
Fat: 15.4g
Saturated fat: 8.2g
Monounsaturated fat: 1.8g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.4g
Protein: 12.1g
Carbohydrate: 51.4g
Fiber: 4.8g
Cholesterol: 36mg
Iron: 2.9mg
Sodium: 475mg
Calcium: 166mg