Pumpkin Mac n Cheese
So I managed to find this gorgeous Nordic Ware Pumpkin Loaf tin in Homesense and just could not wait to bake a pumpkin loaf in it. Finding a Nordic Ware tin in TK Maxx or Homesense or another discounted retailer feels me with such joy, because they're not easy to get over here as it is and they're a pretty penny too, so when you find one discounted, I personally feel if you don't already have it, you have to buy it. So I was ready to go, I had my beautiful tin BUT no pumpkin and I could not find any anywhere either. Ok so I could find the real pumpkins but I wanted the 100% pumpkin puree tins, the ones that are designed for lazy people like me and they had apparently been bought up already. In the end I bought a load from Amazon, and then the week after my local supermarket started stocking them again (at a much cheaper price). Oh well, lesson learnt. It did however leave me with an abundance of pumpkin, even after making a few loaves, so I decided to use some in a Mac n Cheese. You will need:
- Butter
- Flour
- Cheddar
- Whole milk
- Macaroni or penne
- Pumpkin puree
- Nutmeg
- Sage
- Breadcrumbs (from any leftover bread)
Start by making your bechamel. You want to use equal amounts of butter to flour. I find 50g of each works well. Melt your butter, add your flour, whisk, when it's brown slowly add in warmed milk. Your milk doesn't have to be warm but it does help speed things up. When your bechamel is thick and ready, add in grated cheddar, or gruyere, parmesan , whatever cheese you want and a good dose of freshly grated nutmeg. A couple of handfuls of cheese should do it and make sure you season. Then add your pumpkin puree. Half a cup to a cup depending how much you want. Leave it aside whilst you par boil your pasta. Then add your half cooked pasta to the sauce. Place in your baking dish and top with sage breadcrumbs. Blitz some sage and some leftover bread in a food processor and when done mix with a little olive oil. Place on top of the pasta and put in a hot oven about 220 degrees until brown and bubbling. Serve with a nice green salad.