Rice Cooker (or Stovetop) Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
- 2 cups macaroni or any small pasta (I also broke up some long fusilli in one version so anything really works)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 or 2/3 cup roasted pumpkin (depending on how much you like pumpkin)
- 1/2 cup cream or milk (cream tastes better but milk also works)
- 1 cup grated cheese (about half mozzarella for stretch)
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
Rice Cooker Directions:
Step 1 - Place the pasta and stock in the rice cooker and cook until it switches to "keep warm".
Step 2 - Blend the pumpkin and cream together and add to the rice cooker or pot and then stir in the cheese and flip the switch to "Cook" for a few minutes just to heat up the sauce and melt the cheese. Then switch to "keep warm" once the pumpkin cream has cooked through and the cheese has melted. Taste for flavour - I didn't use a low salt stock so it didn't need seasoning but if you used a low sodium stock then you may need to add some. You can keep this warm for a while or eat it straight away. Add chives just before serving!
Stovetop Directions:
Step 1 - Bring just 1.5 cups (not 2 cups) of stock to simmer. Make sure the pasta is covered by the stock and then turn down very low (I left it at 3 out of 10 where 10 is the hottest) and left it with the lid on until it is cooked and the water has absorbed-about 25 minutes.
Step 2 - Same as above