Mac ‘n Cheese Twist
I love me some good ol’ mac ‘n cheese. But sometimes, I think they’re a bit one-dimensional. Thought I’d amp it up by adding fibre and protein sources for this twist on a traditional favourite for satiety’s sake as well!
I used the luscious curly kale that was growing from my Grobrix and it added a lovely earthy flavour to the dish!
This mac ‘n cheese twist has that slightly elevated factor that makes it perfect for a potluck party or for friends coming over for a meal. It’s great for little ones if you’re cooking for for them too. Meal prep is also done and dusted as it freezes well!
THE RECIPE
SERVES 4
Ingredients
Bechamel sauce
450ml milk
45g all-purpose flour
45g butter
Topping and Filling
200g barramundi (or any white fish), chopped into small chunks
200g salmon, chopped into small chunks
200g pasta
2 tsp Dijon mustard
80+10g cheddar, shredded
380g broccoli, cut into florets
50g spinach/kale
2 chilli padi, sliced (optional)
20g panko breadcrumbs
½ tbsp olive oil
4-5 large basil leaves
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt
Pepper
Directions
First, cook the pasta till al dente (about 2 mins shy of what’s indicated on the package instructions). Once ready, remove from the cooking liquid, rinse under some water to stop the cooking, and set it aside.
Next, in the same pot of water, blanch the broccoli florets for about 3 mins. Remove from the cooking liquid, rinse under some water to stop the cooking, and set it aside.
To make the bechamel sauce:
In a medium sized ovenproof saucepan (you’ll be using this to cook, bake and serve in, so choose wisely*!), melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once the sputtering has stopped, sprinkle the flour, and stir with a whisk. Let the flour cook out for about 1 minute, whisking constantly.
Then, turn up the heat to medium and gradually add in the milk. Continue to stir the mixture (to avoid a lumpy sauce!)
Once everything has combined into a thick and creamy sauce, remove this from the heat and season with some salt and pepper to taste.
At this point, preheat the oven to 200˚C (180˚C fan).
Into the bechamel sauce, add the mustard, spinach/kale, chilli, half of the blanched broccoli, and 80g of cheese. Whizz this with an immersion/hand blender until creamy and bright green. If it’s too thick, you can loosen it with some pasta water or milk.
Into the green sauce, add the cooked pasta, half the fish (barramundi and salmon), the basil leaves, and stir everything together. Top the dish with the rest of the fish, pushing it ever so slightly into the pasta.
In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the olive oil and toss to coat. Scatter this over the dish, along with the remaining 10g cheese. Bake for 10 mins until golden brown (if needed, you can broil it for 1min to get the colour), then serve with a spritz of lemon juice and a fresh salad.
Notes
*If you don’t have cookware that is suitable to cook, bake, and serve in, you can simply prepare everything in your saucepan up till step 5, and continue with step 6 after tipping the sauce into your baking dish of choice.
I chose to use basil as my fresh herb, but others like flat leaf parsley and dill also work really well
Nutrition
Coming soon!