Mac and Cheese and More!
You can use the same basic technique employed to create the garlic sauce for the Coliflor al Ajillo to create a fantastic mac and cheese with sauteed vegetables from scratch.
* 1 pound pasta (elbow macaroni for a classic look–but consider rotini: its spirals really cling to the sauce!)
* approx. 1/4 cup cooking oil
* 1 small onion, diced
* 6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
* 1-2 cups broccoli, chopped finely
* 1 red bell pepper, diced
* 1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, cut to very fine dice
* approx 1/4 cup flour
* 2 cups milk
* 1/2 pound cheese, shredded (cheddar is great. So is cahill porter. For a blue cheese sauce, try 1/3 of weight in gorgonzola and the remainder in cheddar)
* salt and pepper to taste
* about 1/4 teaspoon allspice
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary (optional–but great if you’ve got it!)
Put cooking oil in large, hot sauté pan. Add pepper and rosemary to the cooking oil to infuse it (and the final product) with their flavor.
Add onion and garlic to the pan with about 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until they start to brown at the edges. Add broccoli with a tiny pinch of salt, cook for !out 2-3 minutes; then add peppers (bell and jalapeño) with another tiny salt infusion.
Stir flour into vegetables so that it combines with oil to make a roux (add just a tiny bit more oil if necessary) and once a roux has formed, stir the milk in gradually so that all roux is incorporated.
Let simmer forabout 15-20 minutes. When sauce is approaching doneness, cook pasta (about 5-6 min. For elbow mac, closer to 9-11 for rotini).
Just prior to draining pasta, stir the cheese into the sauce gradually so that all cheese melts and is incorporated. Thin the sauce with a tiny bit of pasta cooking water if necessary.
Drain pasta and combine with completed sauce. Serves 4-6.