Description
This is a rich and delicious macaroni & cheese from bon appétit magazine (may 2009). You can use any combination of good melting cheeses such as gruyere, emmentaler, fontina, or cheddar. It works with kale, chard, or spinach. If you omit the greens, this also makes a great traditional mac & cheese. If you want a creamier macaroni & cheese, just add a little more milk until you get the desired consistency.
Ingredients
- Butter
- Onion
- Garlic Cloves
- Unbleached All-purpose Flour
- Reduced-fat Milk
- Gouda Cheese
- Edam Cheese
- Cayenne Pepper
- Ground Nutmeg
- Swiss Chard
- Elbow Macaroni
- Sourdough Bread
- Cumin Seed
Instructions
- Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large pot over medium heat
- Add onion
- Saut until translucent, about 5 minutes
- Stir in garlic, then flour
- Stir constantly 1 minute
- Gradually whisk in milk
- Cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture begins to boil, about 5 minutes
- Add 2 cups coarsely grated gouda and 1 cup edam
- Stir until cheeses melt, about 2 minutes
- Stir in cayenne and nutmeg
- Season sauce with salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 350f butter 13x9x2- inch baking dish
- Cook chard in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 1 minute
- Using slotted spoon, transfer chard to plate
- Cool
- Reserve pot with water
- Squeeze water from chard
- Chop finely
- Return water in pot to boil
- Add macaroni
- Cook until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally
- Drain
- Stir macaroni into warm cheese sauce
- Place half of macaroni in dish
- Smooth top
- Top with 1 cup edam cheese, then chard
- Top with remaining macaroni mixture
- Spread evenly
- Melt 3 tablespoons butter
- Place breadcrumbs in medium bowl
- Drizzle butter over
- Toss
- Add 1 / 2 cup finely grated gouda and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Toss
- Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over mac and cheese
- Sprinkle cumin seeds over, if desired
- Bake mac and cheese until breadcrumbs are golden and edges are bubbling, about 40 minutes
- Let stand 10 minutes