we've had some awesome finds at our local antique/thrift shops the past few months... most of these we've been lucky to find locally, but i do admit to order some from
ebay &
etsy!
i bought a few individual gratin dishes off etsy and had glorious fantasies about making individual pot pies & the like but i've also seen a few recipes for baked pumpkin pasta floating around, so i decided to take a stab at it. i saw paula dean make hers with butter (of course), sausage, heavy cream, & lots of cheese... and i have been eying the
veganomicon pumpkin baked ziti recipe for a while, but wanted something a bit quicker & easier. i also only had rotini, but it ended up working out fine :)
ingredients:
1 lb whole wheat pasta (your choice... i used rotini, but would recommend ziti or penne)
1 recipe tofu ricotta. i use
this one as a base, but usually add some soy milk to make it creamy and smooth. here i omitted the basil
1 T extra virgin olive oil
half a large onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 can pureed pumpkin
1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2 t rubbed sage
1/2 t dried thyme
generous pinch of nutmeg
for herbed bread crumbs:
1-1 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
2 t earth balance
generous pinch of sage
salt + pepper
(preheat oven to 375 degrees)
01. cook the pasta! strain it and rinse with cool water BEFORE it's al dente.
02. make tofu ricotta & set it aside.
03. saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until caramelized. add garlic & cook some more.
04. add canned pumpkin and cook briefly. add soy milk to make a creamy sauce & season with herbs, nutmeg, salt & pepper. let cook a few minutes longer.
(meanwhile, melt the earth balance in a pan. add breadcrumbs and seasoning and toast until browned.)
05. when pasta is done, toss with the pumpkin sauce off the heat. immediately transfer to a casserole, stir in tofu ricotta, & top with bread crumbs. throw it in the oven and cook until sauce is bubbly & bread crumbs are nice and toasty brown. enjoy!
(also, gratuitous weight loss update: 20.2 lbs down, 10% of the starting body weight. still got some ways to go, but feeling really good.)
