Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower and Leeks

In this edition of "How to make weird things into familiar things" I'm going to be using Cauliflower and Leeks. I made a Cauliflower Soup awhile back ago that I couldn't really stand. What a waste. But I still really like cauliflower. So I decided to try out a Mac and Cheese recipe. I found this one that looked too good to be true! And I had everything except the leeks! 


PS- while I'm typing this there is the cutest dog I've ever seen that looks exactly like my dog when she was a puppy sitting outside. I wanna go pet it, but I know someone will steal my computer. Oh my god, I want a dog!! 


K, the recipe: 


Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower and Leeks
from dc-fortheloveof.blogspot.com


Ingredients: 

- 500g macaroni
- 1 cup of aged cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 leeks chopped
- 1 head of cauliflower chopped
- 4 cups of milk
- 1/2 cup of butter
- 1/3 cup of flour
- 1/4 cup of chives chopped
- 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper



Directions: 


1. Toss the chopped cauliflower with salt, pepper and canola oil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes until tender. Allow to cool and chop into finer bite sized pieces. 


2. Saute the chopped leeks in a heavy bottom pot until soft. Add the butter and flour and cook together for 10-15 minutes over low heat to cook out the raw flour flavor.

3. Warm the milk in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add it slowly to the pot and combine with the leek, butter and flour. Cook the sauce over medium head until fully thickened. Add the shredded cheese and cook for another 10 minutes over low heat
4. Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water until soft. Strain and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Combine the sauce with the pasta, roasted cauliflower and reserved pasta water

5. Top with panko bread crumbs and cook under the broiler until the top is golden brown. Garnish with chives

Notes:
- I threw some tofu in for protein, and good measure. 
- Be careful with the leeks. I totally burned mine. Still good though! 

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