A Real Secret Ingredient

I love watching food related tv shows of any kind and one of my favourites is Eat Street. Eat Street travels all over the USA, Canada, and also to other countries and shows off food trucks and the special food that they produce. 

I love food trucks because they've evolved from the standard hot dog and chip truck to something extraordinary. You can find almost anything in the world at a food truck- frog legs, crepes, mile high burgers, curries, tacos, and more. And food trucks have a lower overhead than a regular restaurant so you seem to get a little more for your money too. 

Usually I want to try the food that Eat Street features, but one of the episodes of Eat Street I watched made me laugh instead of wanting to dig in. The food truck was called Tex's Tacos and they young men ran it explained what their secret ingredient for a certain taco was on the show. I was expecting a chili pepper, a special salsa, or a weird spice, but they shared that their secret ingredient was cheese. 

If cheese if a secret ingredient on a taco, then I guess I know all the secrets!

I think you'll really have to scratch your head to figure out what the secret ingredient in for the recipe I am sharing today. I challenge you to take a look at the picture below and venture your best guess. 

Here's a hint: it's not cheese! 

Creamy Pumpkin Macaroni

1 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (1 - 15 oz can)
1 cup of chicken or veggie broth
2 teaspoons dried sage
3 tablespoons cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 cups of cooked small pasta
Parmesan cheese, grated for garnish

1. Heat olive oil in a medium pot on the stove at medium heat and add in the onion and garlic. Cook until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes.

2. Add in the stock, pumpkin, and sage. Cook until the sauce is hot and remove from the heat.

3. Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce, adding in more stock or water if the sauce is too thick. Then stir in cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Combine pasta and sauce and top with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

I've thought about it again and even though Tex's Tacos made me laugh with their secret ingredient, I still want to try a taco from them. I mean cheese is my favourite ingredient! It's just that not every single recipe needs to have something secret in it!