Pumpkin Mac 'n Cheese - Gluten Free, Dairy Free Version

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Get ready for this - all the flavor and velvety texture of mac and cheese but without the bellyache - use pumpkin puree for the cheeze sauce and your favorite gluten free macaroni noodles and you'll never miss mac and cheese again. My friend Maria shared this idea with me and I couldn't wait to make it! As usual, I had recipe-following-anxiety, so I just made up my own version based on her description - use pumpkin puree as the "cheeze" and you've got pumpkin macaroni and cheese. Which means, feel free to improvise yourself and see what you come up with!

I couldn't resist putting the stem on for a "cheesy" decoration ;)

What's cool about this recipe is that, to me, it really fooled me that it wasn't a creamy, cheesey sauce. You would be surprised, but without the usual pumpkin spices like cinnamon and allspice, the pumpkin doesn't impart your stereotypical pumpkin flavor. Instead it shares its velvety texture and rich color to fool you into thinking you are enjoying one of your favorite old childhood regulars. I also think the mustard and fresh ground pepper helped to acquire that mac and cheese-ish flavor.

I suppose you could use canned pumpkin for this recipe, but I don't like to eat things from cans, so I'm not going to recommend it. Luckily Rachel and Andrew had kindly picked up free pumpkins from a local farm post-Halloween and dropped a bunch by our house. So when I had the craving to try this out, we had a stock of pumpkins ready to be roasted. (They also dropped off 4 of the biggest pumpkins I've ever seen, so I might have to make this recipe for the masses one day and serve it in one of the giant pumpkins. Here's an estimation of what I did this time to make a festive fall version of this allergy unfriendly staple dish.

Vegan Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese - Gluten Free, Dairy Free Recipe

Pumpkin Mac 'n Cheese with a garden fresh green salad

Ingredients
1 medium sized pie pumpkin
1 bag of organic, brown rice macaroni noodles
2 tbs diced onion
1-2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
Bragg's Organic Seasoning
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Few sprigs of fresh parsley for garnish

First, roast your pumpkin. Elana has a beautiful picture guide to roasting a pumpkin. If you've always used can pumpkin, see how easy she makes it look. But to be completely honest, I once again didn't check a recipe, and I believe I just cut mine in half, scooped out the flesh and seeds (save the seeds for roasting!) and baked it flesh side down in a casserole dish with a tiny bit of water at 375 degrees until it felt tender when I poked it (about 30 minutes).
While the pumpkin bakes, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your gluten free macaroni according to the package (usually you can just bring it to a boil for a minute, cover, and turn off the heat for 15-20 minutes).
Once the pasta is cooked, wash it well (an important step for gluten free pasta to keep it from getting all gummy), and toss back in the pot with a little olive oil and set aside, covered.
Once the pumpkin is cooked through and you can easily poke the flesh with a fork, remove it from the oven to let cool slightly.
In a saucepan, soften the onion and garlic over medium heat in about 4 tbs of water.
Scoop the flesh from the pumpkin into a blender or food processor with the softened onions and garlic. Now, if you want to make a bowl from the pumpkin shell, you will want to be very careful when scooping out the flesh. If not, just get after it so you get as much pumpkin as you can. One lil pie pumpkin practically filled my blender!
Puree the pumpkin, adding a little water or rice or almond milk or regular milk if you need more liquid to get it moving. I think I only added about 2 tbs of water to mine, but this could vary with your pumpkin.
Pour the pureed pumpkin back in the saucepan you cooked the onion and garlic in and heat on medium low. Stir in a couple shakes of sea salt and the mixed herb seasoning. Heat and stir for a few minutes then stir in the mustard and remove from heat.
Now, each individual pumpkin will make a different amount of puree, so I recommend scooping the flavored puree into the pasta a little at a time, so as not to over-sauce it. I would estimate you would use about 2 1/2 cups of puree to a bag of pasta if you want it super creamy.
Once you have the desired consistency, scoop back into the pumpkin shell or into a bowl. Top with fresh ground pepper and fresh chopped parsley.

Other ideas....
I think I'd also like to try putting the mixed mac and cheese into a casserole dish, drizzling the top with olive oil, and baking to see if it crisps up a bit on top. Or maybe even topping with some diced up gluten free bread before baking.
If you try any fun variations, be sure to share by leaving a comment below.

I also have to share some awesome fall scenery we've been enjoying in OB. Unseasonal rain storms from the west met by the Santa Ana winds from the east has made for quite the sky art.