Danny Seo's Brûléed Pumpkin Macaroni & Cheese Recipe

"The addition of pumpkin adds a sweet and familiar note and goes really well with the saltiness of the cheese," says the lifestyle expert and author of the new Naturally, Delicious Dinners cookbook. "The end result tastes deliciously homemade but with very little effort. You can't screw it up!"

Photo: Jennifer Causey

"The addition of pumpkin adds a sweet and familiar note and goes really well with the saltiness of the cheese," says lifestyle expert Danny Seo. "The end result tastes deliciously homemade but with very little effort. You can't screw it up!"

The author of the new Naturally, Delicious Dinners cookbook says that he loves the ingredients in this recipe because, "one of my pet peeves are recipes that call for a can of something - in this case, pumpkin - where you just use a little bit of the ingredient and are stuck with leftovers. Food waste drives me nuts so I wanted a recipe that used a whole can."

"Make sure it gets crispy on top but remember that it's better to undercook this dish than to overcook it - overcooking it will dry it out," recommends Seo. "Also, when you prepare it, serve it right away while it's hot. Like any pasta dish, reheating it later will give it a different consistency. Or, you can prepare it ahead of time and bake it when you're ready because it freezes well."

Ingredients

• 8 cups water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
• 8 oz. uncooked macaroni (about 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin (from one 15-oz. can)
• 1 tablespoon crushed toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Directions

• 1. Preheat oven to 375° with rack about 6 inches from heat source. Bring water to a boil in a medium pot over high; stir in oil and 1 tablespoon of the salt. Add macaroni; cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• 2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is well combined and light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add milk; cook, whisking constantly, until well combined and thickened slightly and comes to a boil, about 1 minute. Whisk in cheese until smooth. Remove from heat. Fold in pumpkin, nutmeg, cooked macaroni and remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
• 3. Grease a broiler-safe baking dish with butter. Transfer macaroni to baking dish. Bake, uncovered, in oven until golden, hot and bubbly, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to broil, and let preheat 5 minutes. Return macaroni to oven, and broil until top is crispy and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with pepitas. Let stand 4 to 5 minutes and serve.

Tips

"You can easily make this plant-based by swapping in vegan cheeses," says Seo. "If using a nondairy milk, use an unsweetened variety since the natural sugars in the pumpkin are enough."