Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese

My favorite brownie recipe in my prime baking years (teens and young adult) was from a Betty Crocker recipe.  When we moved to Bangkok in 1991, I realized I couldn't find a key ingredient, solid shortening.  Baking chocolate also was hard to find, but my dear friend found a way to send me a few boxes.  On those boxes, I found a new recipe which called for butter or margarine instead of solid shortening.  My family loved that recipe, and I learned an important lesson: The best recipes often are on the package, because the manufacturer has incentive to make you love their product.

Flash forward a couple decades.  I've been eating gluten-free for the past year.  There's a few foods I really miss.  Fish and chips is at the top of the list.  But macaroni and cheese has always been a favorite. And not the stuff in the boxes we starting using in the '70s when everyone was in a hurry, but the real kind baked in the oven.  (Remember the frozen version in aluminum foil that baked up with great crusts?  That's real macaroni and cheese.)

I tried adapting my own recipe for baked macaroni and cheese, substituting GF pasta and using cornstarch instead of flour.  It was OK, but not great.  So I went to the back of the box of my favorite GF pasta.   

We wanted a light lunch for our Easter egg hunt, so I made ham and macaroni and cheese - the big dish for the rest of the family, and this one for me.  I made a few adaptions from the recipe - I used onions instead of green chilies, added paprika and skipped the black olives and pimentos, and used GF bread crumbs instead of corn flakes on the top.

Feel free to adapt at will.

Gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese

1 (8 oz) package Ancient Harvest Quinoa Elbow Pasta
1/2 cup sour cream (I used low-fat)
1 cup milk (I used non fat)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup (or more) chopped onions (original recipe called for 4 oz. green chilies)
9 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 cup pitted black olives, sliced (optional)
Salt to taste
1 small jars pimentos, crushed (optional)
1/4 cup GF bread crumbs (or corn flakes)
Paprika

Prepare a small baking dish.  Coat with butter and cooking spray.  If desired for crunchy crust, add some bread crumbs and turn dish to line the sides like you're flouring a pan.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta in lightly salted water for 4-6 minutes, or until done.  Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix cornstarch with milk.  Drain and rinse pasta.  (I used the same pot I used to boil the past for the next step; it is still warm, and you have one less pot to wash.)  Melt butter.  Add the onions and cook until soft.  Add cornstarch mixture to butter and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.  Add Cheddar cheese (reserving 1/4 cup for topping) to sauce and cook slowly until melted, still stirring constantly.  Add a dash of paprika for color, sour cream and, if using, chilies, olives and pimentos.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine sauce with pasta and pour into prepared dish.  Mix 1/4 cup bread crumbs, reserved cheese and a dash of paprika and sprinkle on top of dish.  (Original recipe just tops with corn flakes.)  Bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.  Serves 4 as a main dish, but many more as a side.

(Live outside the U.S.?  Recipe conversion suggestions on this post.)