the vegetarian environmentalist

 

Ok, so I was watching Rachael Ray the other day and got excited when she was making what looked like a really tasty (and easy!) mac and cheese. Apparently I tuned in after the announcement that this was going to be “reuben” mac and cheese, complete with corned beef and sauerkraut (totally unnecessary). I really liked the cheese and breadcrumb additions, though, so I took the liberty of amending like so! I served with steamed broccoli.

Pasta
Salt
1 pound cavatappi or other short cut pasta

Topping
2 slices rye bread
Tiny amount of butter for toast
Some green herbs (fresh parsley if you can, but dried works fine)
Pinch garlic salt
1 teaspoon paprika

Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups lowfat milk
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded (try smoked for extra flavor)
1 cup Gruyere, shredded
1 cup Cheddar, shredded

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente.

While pasta cooks, toast rye bread in toaster then butter hot bread. Coarsely chop bread and place in food processor. Add herbs, paprika and garlic salt to bread and process into bread crumbs, then set aside.

Heat a sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter to pot. Once melted, whisk in flour for one minute, then add milk. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Let sit to thicken for 5 to 6 minutes, still on medium heat, then stir in mustard. Melt 2/3 of the combined cheeses into the sauce.

Preheat broiler.

Drain pasta and return to hot pot. Toss hot pasta with cheese sauce and coat. Transfer mac n cheese to casserole and top with remaining cheese, then bread crumbs (be sure to spread out, otherwise they might burn). Brown under broiler 3 to 4 minutes, serve.

 

 


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