- Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. You can save the seeds to use in homemade autumn granola if you like! Peel the pumpkin (I find this easier once it's cut in half), then chop the flesh into chunks. A small to medium £1 pumpkin should give you around 1kg of pumpkin flesh but it will vary depending on the size.
2.Spread the pumpkin chunks across a baking tray, working in batches if needed. Roast at gas mark 7/220c for around 40 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft and starting to brown around the edges. Roasting rather than boiling brings out a much deeper, sweeter flavour, making it perfect for this recipe.
- Once roasted, transfer around three-quarters of the pumpkin chunks to a blender with approximately 1 tablespoon of water. Blend until thick and completely smooth, adding a tiny splash more water if needed. If you don't have a food blender, a hand blender will work just as well, although it may take a little longer to get a completely smooth puree. Set aside until ready to use.
The steps above are for preparing a whole pumpkin, but you don't need to make it all unless you want to. I only pureed half of my pumpkin so I could save the remaining roasted chunks both for the top of my pasta and for other pumpkin recipes. For this recipe you'll only need around a quarter of a small to medium pumpkin to make enough puree and chunks for the top.
If you decide to puree the whole pumpkin, you can freeze any leftovers in portions to use another time. Alternatively, put your homemade puree to good use in other recipes, such as pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice overnight oats or a creamy pumpkin pasta!
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Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook your gluten free pasta as per the instructions until al dente. You can use whatever pasta type to like, I used penne as that's the type I usually have in but gluten free macaroni would also be good. I always go al dente when cooking gluten free pasta because you can guarantee 2 seconds to long and it's mush.
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Once the gluten free pasta is cooked, drain off the water and set aside.
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In a saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat then add in gluten free flour, mix with a wooden spoon to make a roux. It should start to resemble greasy balls of dough. Slowly add the milk while continuously stirring otherwise it will go lumpy and we don't want a lumpy sauce! Keep stirring until the sauce thickens, this will take up to 5 mins.
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Once your white sauce has thickened add the grated cheese, stir until melted then add in 150g of pumpkin puree, stir though and add salt to taste. Mature cheddar works best due to its strong flavour but you can use other types.
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Chuck the cooked gluten free pasta into the sauce and stir though, ensuring all the pasta coated. Serve up and then add some of the left over roasted pumpkin to the top before tucking in.
