Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese with Rice Cracker Topping

by thebestworldevents.com 20 March 2024 · Healthy Food

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Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese & Rice Cracker Topping

Growing up in a Chinese household, I always found Asian rice cracker snacks stashed away in the cupboards. The subtle toasted rice aroma in these snacks made them irresistible to eat. As much as I love snacking on various types of rice crackers, I never thought about cooking with them until I was shopping at 99 Ranch Market the other day. I walked past a display of Bin Bin rice crackers (可口賓賓) and thought, “Wouldn’t they make amazing breadcrumbs?” That sudden lightbulb moment inspired to rework my baked butternut squash mac and cheese recipe and add rice cracker crumbs.

TESTING DIFFERENT RICE CRACKER CRUMBS

My original vision was to make crumbs out of Bin Bin rice crackers. These crackers are very light and airy with umami flavor from MSG, and I thought they would add a good crunch to the mac and cheese. However, after I baked the mac and cheese, the rice cracker crumb lost all its crunch. Moreover, the subtle umami flavor of the crackers didn’t stand out against the other flavors of the butternut squash mac and cheese.

J-Basket Rice Crackers — J-Basket rice crackers wrapped in seaweed

After that failed attempt, I thought about other rice crackers that might have a crunchier texture. Immediately, J-Basket’s seaweed-wrapped rice crackers (nori maki arare, 海苔巻きあられ) came to mind. The crackers are quite crunchy in their original form and the seaweed adds another layer of umami flavor. The J-Basket rice cracker crumbs held up nicely in the baked mac and cheese. The crumbs retained their crunch and I liked the subtle flavor in the topping.

BREAKING DOWN THE RICE CRACKERS

To break the seaweed-wrapped rice crackers into crumbs, I recommend using a food processor (or a smaller electric grinder). The blades in the food processor easily break down the seaweed into smaller pieces.

When blending the rice crackers in the food processor, keep in mind that you don’t want to grind everything into a fine powder (at least not for this recipe). You want there to be slightly large pieces so that you can detect the crunch of the rice crackers against the mac and cheese. I recommend blending the crackers at 2 to 3 second intervals, until nearly all the crackers have broken down into small chunks.

There might be 1 or 2 crackers that somehow missed the blades and remain mostly intact (see photo above). Simply pick those out and eat them or crush them with a kitchen mallet. I wouldn’t continue running the food processor just to break down these stray crackers, as you can quickly turn the rest of the crumbs into a fine powder.

Comparing Rice Cracker Crumbs — The crumbs on the left are more finely ground and a good size for breading; the ones on the right are larger and better for topping.

If you want to use the crackers as breading instead of a topping, you may want to grind the crackers more finely, like you see in the photo above, left. Smaller crumbs adhere better to the surface of meat, fish, or tofu.

BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH MAC & CHEESE

The recipe outlined below is essentially a half batch of my butternut squash mac and cheese recipe with several modifications. First, this version is not gluten free. I used large shell pasta instead of gluten-free penne and all-purpose flour to make the roux. If you are gluten intolerant, use a gluten-free pasta and a gluten-free flour blend as substitutes. Next, instead of relying on salt and cheese to deliver savory flavor, I added white miso to give the dish a layer of umami flavor. And of course, the rice cracker topping is new addition to the mac and cheese.

HOW LONG DO THE CRUMBS LAST?

Once you break down the rice crackers into crumbs, keep them in a jar and use within 1 to 2 weeks, before the crackers go stale.

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Servings: 4

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese with Rice Cracker Topping

This butternut squash mac and cheese is packed with many layers of flavor. There’s sharp white cheddar and subtle sweet notes from butternut squash purée, which are rounded out by the rich umami flavor of white miso. The mac and cheese is topped with rice cracker crumbs to give the dish a delightful crunch.I baked the mac and cheese in a deep 9-inch pie dish. A square baking dish or baking pan will work, too. This recipe serves 3 to 4. If you’re serving 4, think of the mac and cheese as a small side dish. You can also double the recipe and bake the mac and cheese inside a 9×13-inch baking pan.

Prep Time20 minutes

Cook Time35 minutes

Ingredients

Rice Cracker Bread Crumbs

3/4 cup (45g) rice crackers with seaweed, (see note 1)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Mac & Cheese

8 ounces (227g) large shell pasta, or use a pasta of your choice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup (237ml) low-fat or part-skim milk
1 tablespoon white miso, (see note 2)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup butternut squash puree, can sub with pumpkin puree
3/4 cup (70g) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup (70g) shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
olive oil for greasing pie dish

Instructions

Pour the rice crackers into the bowl of a food processor. Blend the crackers at 2 to 3 second intervals, until most of the crackers have broken down into crumbs or small chunks no larger than 1/4-inch wide (see photo below). I blended the crackers for about 9 seconds total. This should yield about 1/2 cup of crumbs (see note 3). If there’s 1 or 2 rice crackers that haven’t broken down properly, crush them with a kitchen mallet or eat them. Transfer the rice cracker crumbs to a bowl.
Melt the butter in a microwave or in a saucepan over the stove. Pour the melted butter over the rice cracker crumbs and use your fingers to work the butter into the crumbs. You can also use a spoon or spatula if the butter is too hot. Set aside.
Slide an oven rack into the center position, and preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Grease a 9-inch pie dish (or square pan) with olive oil. Set aside.
Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the large shell pasta over medium-high heat for 11 minutes. If you are using pasta of another shape, check the package for cooking times. Drain the pasta into a colander and rinse under cold water. Let the pasta finish draining as you prepare the cheese sauce.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large sauté pan or small pot over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk into the butter immediately, until a soft paste (or roux) forms. Let the paste cook about 30 seconds to 1 minute more, until it starts to bubble. Pour about 1/4 cup of milk and whisk it with the roux, until a thicker paste forms. Then pour the remainder of the milk.
Once the milk begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for another minute. Add the miso, oregano, thyme, black pepper, and salt and stir.
Add the butternut squash puree and mix until incorporated. Set aside a 1/4 cup each of the mozzarella cheese and white cheddar for topping the mac and cheese. Mix the remaining cheese with the butternut squash sauce. Turn off the heat.
Stir in the cooked pasta until the pasta is coated with the butternut squash cheese sauce.
Transfer the mac and cheese into the greased pie dish. Top with the reserved mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Spread the buttered rice cracker crumbs over the mac and cheese.
Bake the mac and cheese for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cheese around the edges of the pie dish is golden and bubbling.
Use oven mitts to take the pie dish out the oven and serve immediately. Serve the mac and cheese with a side of vegetables, like roasted asparagus.

Notes

Rice Crackers: I like to use J-Basket’s seaweed-wrapped rice crackers because they are very crunchy and well seasoned. You can also use the teardrop-shaped rice crackers instead. I tried using Bin Bin Rice Crackers, but the flavor of the crackers was too mild and the crunch did not hold up.
Miso Paste: Instead of relying on salt and cheese to deliver savory flavor, I added white miso to give the dish a layer of umami flavor. If you don’t have any miso on hand, simply leave it out.
Breaking Down Rice Crackers: For this recipe don’t blend all the crackers into a fine powder. You want there to be slightly large pieces so that you can detect the crunch of the rice crackers against the mac and cheese.
Gluten-Free Version: You can use gluten-free pasta and substitute the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend.