When ever I ask my partner what he wants for dinner he says “tacos” or “that corn chowder” I don’t even know why I bother asking, as for my daughter well her reply is always cheesy noodles please. Tonight I caved and made cheesy noodles with a serious mama spin. I managed to slip in 1/3 of a roasted pumpkin and used organic corn noodles, which yielded a gluten free meal packed with veggies and no one was the wiser!
The sauce for this was really special and it looked like I used orange cheese (which I never buy) but it made it taste cheesier somehow…
In a hot oven
roast 1 small pumpkin sliced into 1″ thick smiles (or any squash) until fork tender, with a drizzle of olive oil and S+P seasoning
also roast the seeds from the pumpkin (same seasonings)
and 4 cloves of garlic (skin on)
In a small sauce pan start a roux
1/4 c butter
1/4 c quinoa flour
allow to bubble away for about 5 minutes stirring often
season with:
S+P
freshly grated nutmeg (about 1 tsp)
a squeeze of course mustard
slowly add 2 cups of milk or cream
reduce heat and stir often as sauce thickens
Then add:
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
handful each of chopped: parsley, sage and oregano
Now add the 4 cloves of roasted garlic (peeled) along with about 2 cups worth of roasted pumpkin
Mix with immersion blender until smooth.
Toss cooked gluten free pasta of your choice in this divine sauce and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds and a little more fresh parm.
* this recipe made enough sauce for our family dinner plus I reserved about 2 cups for a veggie pot pie I am planning to make tomorrow!
