A craving for mac and cheese sparks creativity when eating gluten-free

Lately, I've been hankering for baked macaroni and cheese.

For me, baked macaroni and cheese's biggest issues are the macaroni and the cheese sauce, both usually made with wheat flour. Uh-oh.

Nearly 30 years ago, I was (and still am) a bread addict: one slice is too many, and a loaf is not enough. I'm the guy that, when dining in a restaurant, always asked to have the breadbasket refilled before my entree arrived. Unfortunately, that bread frequently ended up with not-so-good results on Weigh Day.

I have gone gluten-free for the last three years to avoid all wheat-based foods. Following a low-carb food plan makes using gluten substitutes a difficult path since processed carbs are used to make wheat look alikes.

To meet my once-in-three-years mac-and-cheese desires, I decided to use a gluten-free, organic brown rice elbow pasta.

Thirty years ago, wheat-free pasta was not so good. In fact, many were awful. Today, there are several decent wheat-free pastas. I found that Jovial Foods' organic brown rice pasta is nearly indistinguishable from pasta made with wheat.

Classic baked macaroni and cheese starts with a white sauce made with (yes, you are ahead of me here) wheat flour. The internet delivered a wheat-free, white sauce-based solution, thanks to Argo suggesting their cornstarch could be used to make a white sauce.

I prefer using potato starch as a thickener (it is like cornstarch, except made with potato) and wondered if that would work.

I went to my kitchen since I had all the ingredients needed for a baked mac and cheese. While my rice pasta elbows cooked, I grated 12 ounces of cheddar cheese, half mild and half sharp. I prefer shredding my cheese since I can select a better cheese if it comes in a block versus already shredded. A food processor with a grating blade makes for easy grating.

While my rice macaroni drained, I stirred the cheese sauce using potato starch and was surprised at how well and smoothly it came together. Next, I stirred my grated cheese into the white sauce.

Since the pasta in my baked mac and cheese would continue cooking while it baked, I cooked it a minute less than the package suggested and drained it well after siphoning off a cup of the cooking liquid. That cooking liquid could be used when I stirred in the pasta to keep the sauce from being too thick.

I lightly sprayed the casserole dish with avocado oil spray for easy clean up and transferred the macaroni mixture to the dish. I topped it with my now favorite gluten-free bread crumbs made by Aleia's (aleias.com) that look and taste like wheat-flour bread crumbs.

When my baked macaroni and cheese came out of the oven, I waited for it to cool down and then tasted it. Amazing. The rice pasta was, to my palate, indistinguishable from wheat-flour pasta, the cheese sauce was perfect, and the topping was nicely crunchy. A satisfying winner. Really.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

Don's Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese

12 ounces organic brown rice elbows - cooked 1 minute less than package directions, drained, setting aside a cup of the cooking water

3 tablespoons potato starch (or cornstarch)

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

3 cups whole milk (organic preferred)

6 ounces (about 1½ cups) mild cheddar cheese (organic preferred), grated

6 ounces (about 1½ cups) sharp cheddar cheese (organic preferred), grated

½ cup gluten-free bread crumbs (such as Aleia's brand)

Place the oven rack in the center position and begin heating the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13-by-9-inch oven-safe casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

Make the sauce: Whisk potato starch (or cornstarch), salt, pepper and milk together in a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-high, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and continue stirring and simmer for 1 minute or until thick. Remove the saucepan from the heat and gradually add both cheeses; stirring until melted. Add some of the cooking water if the sauce is too thick. Add cooked pasta and stir until combined.

Transfer the macaroni mixture to the prepared casserole dish and top with the gluten-free bread crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbling around the edges.

Serves 8.

Want to spice it up? Add 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper to the sauce or drizzle some hot sauce on a serving.

SaltSense: Omitting the added salt reduces the sodium per serving to 381 milligrams.

Nutrition values per serving: 426 calories (43% from fat), 19.5 g fat (9.7 g saturated fat), 50 g carbohydrates (48.3 net carbs), 5.3 g sugars, 1.5 g fiber, 17.3 g protein, 49 mg cholesterol, 526 mg sodium.

Don Mauer