Pumpkin Chickpea Quinoa with Haricot Vert and Almonds

Oh hey, remember like half a year ago when I made my own pumpkin puree? And then I made mac n' cheese with it? Yep. Me too.

Well I froze a few large yogurt containers-worth of puree. I let one thaw out in the fridge over night yesterday. And today I added a bunch to some quinoa, along with some sauteed onions and haricot vert, chickpeas, and slivered almonds (I also added about a tablespoon of nutritional yeast for some hidden protein).

Yum.

(I'm sort of sick of quinoa, though)

I promise that I will bake you something soon.

I promise that in addition to a tray of garlic-y rosemary roasted potatoes and cauliflower I will soon give you fresh-baked cookies.


I promise that I'll stop posting about quinoa and find another grain to fall in love with (I have my eye on farro...).

Spare me, for now.


Pumpkin Chickpea Quinoa with Haricot Vert and Almonds

Serves 6 (?)

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water
1 small onion, sliced thin
large handful of haricot vert (green beans), cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup of pumpkin puree (or squash)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon cumin
salt, pepper
1 can garbanzo beans
1/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
grated cheese (Pecornio or Parmesan)

1. Prepare your quinoa. Add 1 cup of dry quinoa and 2 cups water to a saucepan. Boil. Turn heat to low/simmer, cover, and leave it for about 15 minutes until done.

2. Saute your onion in olive oil until transluscent. Add the green beans and cook for about 4 more minutes. Add the pumpkin, nutritional yeast, cumin, salt, pepper. Add the cooked quinoa, garbanzo beans, almonds, and raisins. Grate cheese over the top.

R.I.P. Purple Pumpkin, HELLO Pumpkin Mac n' Cheese

So we've had this ridged purple pumpkin living with us since October. Today was the day that I transformed our dear purple pumpkin into some precious puree.

Before

After

This dear purple pumpkin made a TON of puree.

The 1/2 cup of puree that I used tonight in my pumpkin mac n' cheese barely made a dent in the sea of puree that is left.

But the mac n' cheese sure was thick, creamy, and...bright orange!



Pumpkin Mac n' Cheese
from neverhomemaker.com

What you'll need . . .

• 1-1/2 cups elbow macaroni
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon flour (any kind will work, I used all-purpose)
  
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
• 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup pureed garbanzo beans (or hummus, or cream cheese...I used cream cheese)
  
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
  
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• OPTIONAL: flaky sea salt, breadcrumbs, fried sage/rosemary
  

Method . . .

1. Cook the pasta to the package directions.
2. While you wait for it to finish: Spray the inside of a large sauce-pot with the cooking spray. Pour the olive oil into a large sauce-pot and cook over medium heat. Then stir in the flour and keep stirring until the mixture is thick -- but not browned. (About 1 minute)
3. Add the milk and stir constantly for about 3 minutes or so. Until thick.
4. Add the pumpkin puree, cheese, and pureed garbanzo beans (or hummus, or cream cheese)(to puree the garbanzos, just rise a can of beans, put in a food processor with a couple tablespoons water, pulse until smooth -- like hummus), paprika, and pepper. Stir until everything is melted. Add more seasonings to taste.
5. When you pasta is done, just drain and add to the cheese mixture. Stir for a minute or two, then turn off the heat and serve.
6. Adding some flaky sea salt, breadcrumbs and/or fried sage or rosemary gives this dish a leg up.