Pasta with Pumpkin Cheeze Sauce

Cheese spelled with the 'z' is cool.

And cheeze = non-dairy cheese.

I'm full of useful tips like that. You're welcome.

I adore cashew cheeze sauce and make it every few weeks. The boy and I have it over noodles for lunch all of the time and he just loves it. Right now my favourite GF pasta is from Costco. It's Felicia penne and it's a blend of buckwheat, corn and rice. Love it. It's a nice change from plain old rice noodles and since I'm allergic to a bunch of other grains, I can't enjoy some of the other pastas. This penne has a wonderful flavour and texture and I highly recommend you grab some if you have a Costco membership! I was toying with the idea of posting the cashew sauce on here but decided against it. Even though I can tolerate cashews, so many people are allergic to nuts and I want everyone to be able to enjoy the recipes I post on here.

But this recipe is great! I had seen a recipe for butternut squash pasta and was going to try and make my own version, so I bought a squash. It's still on the counter... This recipe would work wonderfully with roasted, pureed squash but I had pumpkin in the fridge (when do I not?) and searched for a pumpkin cheeze recipe instead. I love Angela's blog (Oh She Glows) - so many of her recipes are adaptable for me. I changed a few things and will write down my version below but you can view her recipe here. She also has the nutritional info there on her site. Nutritional yeast is good stuff - complete protein, fiber and good old B12 are in those delicious flakes!

Pasta with Pumpkin Cheeze Sauce

2 c dry GF pasta, cooked according to directions
1 tbsp Earth Balance or other dairy-free butter sub
3/4 - 1 c rice milk or milk of choice
1 tbsp arrowroot powder or cornstarch
2 tsp mustard powder
1/3 c nutritional yeast
1 c pumpkin puree
1/2 - 1 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg (or two)
1/2 tsp GF soy sauce or miso (optional)
pumpkin pie spice for serving (optional)

In a medium pot, melt Earth Balance. Add about 1/2 c rice milk and bring to a boil over med-high heat.
In a small bowl whisk together remaining 1/4 milk, arrowroot and mustard powder. Pour into the boiling milk, stirring to prevent lumps. Boil until thickened and reduce heat to medium.
Stir in yeast and whisk until smooth.
Whisk in pumpkin and spices and allow to come to a boil.
If sauce is too thick, pour in addition milk (about 1/4 c) until desired thickness. Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce/miso.
Taste and adjust the flavours to your liking. You may need to add more salt if you leave out the soy sauce/miso.
Pour over hot noodles and top with more fresh pepper and a dash of pie spice.
Inhale.


*Angela adds in 1/4 tsp garlic powder along with the arrowroot, feel free to add it in if you like!