Delicious Easy-As-Pie Pumpkin Rotini

I know, I know, two recipes in a row. But this one is so worth it.

What You Need

3-4 tbsp margarine (we use Earth Balance)
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup rice milk/soy milk
4 oz/115g finely chopped shallots
6 – 12 heaping spoonfuls of pumpkin puree (this depends on how strongly you want it to taste of pumpkin)
pinch of nutmeg
12oz/350g rotini (Obviously, don’t bite off more than you can chew (har har). Make it according to how many you’re feeding. We’ve made it once with only 350g and this last time we actually used 450g and had left overs for two days. YUM.)
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, or from your spice rack is fine too.
salt and pepper

What You Do

1. Boil your water and begin to cook your rotini per directed. While that’s happening, chop those shallots!

2. Melt 1-2 tbsp margarine in a small pan over medium-low heat and simmer until onions are lightly browned. If you are feeling courageous, you can start the next step while these are simmering to completion. If not, don’t worry, just set these aside when they’re done and move on to the next step. (It should only take 5-6 minutes.)

3. Melt 2 more tbsp margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir. Slowly add in the milk and continue stirring until there are no lumps left! Now add your pumpkin puree. You’ll want to add at least six very generous spoonfuls of the puree, but feel free to add more if you like. This is going to be your sauce for the pasta, so if you want to start by doing six scoops, you can then stir and eventually the sauce will thicken (exciting, huh?!). You can taste it now and add more if you like. To give you an idea, Tom and I used around seven or eight last time and it was perfect for me, but he wanted more of a punch. Also, I just want to mention that this is a great basic sauce recipe for any homemade pasta. Just remember, 2 tbsp flour + 1 cup rice milk/etc will yield your base. Then you can add whatever you like- even make your mac & cheese with this homemade sauce. It’s delightful!

4. Add nutmeg to your pasta sauce as it thickens, as well as your shallots, and fresh parsley. Stir until well blended. Set aside on unused burner and allow to cool. Sauce WILL thicken.

5. Drain your cooked pasta (when it’s done, of course), plop it in a new bowl and pour your sauce on! We like to add it in layers, so we’ll do a small layer of pasta, then sauce, then pasta again, etc. Then stir it all together. You’re done! Now you can add salt or pepper (or both) or any other scrumptious additions!

This is great as a side dish or on it’s own.
Enjoy!