Baked butternut spaetzle with cheese and walnuts

Name: Baked butternut spaetzle with cheese and walnuts
Prep time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: Makes 4 main-course or 8 side-dish servings
Ingredients: Pinch of cinnamon; 3 tablespoons butter; ½ cup ricotta; ½ cup milk or cream, more or less; ½ cup walnuts, broken into pieces; 2 eggs; ½ cups flour; Pinch of grated nutmeg; ½ cup milk or cream, more or less; 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan; ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes; ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 12 ounces peeled butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes (buy a squash slightly larger than 1 pound); 5 branches thyme; 4 cloves garlic, peeled

Preparation info

Makes
4
main-course side-dish servings

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
1 hr 15

Appears in

Simple to Spectacular

By Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman

Published 2000

About

Here, you make spaetzle laced with spiced and pureed butternut squash; they’re tender, sweet, and delicious. Then you bake them in a creamy Parmesan sauce. The results are magnificent.

Ingredients

12 ounces peeled butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes (buy a squash slightly larger than 1 pound)
4 cloves garlic, peeled

Main course
Side dish
Pasta
Vegetarian

Method

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Put the squash, garlic, thyme, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and a big pinch of salt in a roasting pan and roast, shaking and stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the walnuts in a d