Magnificent Mac and Cheese

[passerine]

This is a family recipe that has been adapted and modernized to try to make it a bit healthier.



Food You Will Need:

A one-pound box of whole wheat spiral rotini.
An eight-ounce brick of reduced-fat cheddar cheese. (Cabot's 75% reduced is the one I recommend.)
One of the following: Two drained 6.5 oz cans of tuna OR 2 cups of frozen peas OR 12 oz diced ham.

The makings of sauce:
1/2 stick of unsalted butter (or alternatively 2 T. of butter and 2 T. of olive oil)
1/3 cup flour (can be whole wheat)
1 1/2 cups milk
optional salt and pepper

Equipment You Will Need:

A pot large enough to boil a whole pound of pasta (and water in the pot).
An appropriate strainer/colander to drain the pasta.
A cheese grater and something to grate on/into.
A can opener for tuna or knife for dicing ham, if applicable.
Measuring cups in appropriate sizes.
A timer.
A small saucepan and wooden spoon to make the sauce.
A casserole dish.
Two stove burners (since you'll probably have pasta and sauce on the stove at the same time) and an oven.
Oven mitts or potholders for removing a hot dish from the oven.

Directions:

Put a reasonable quantity of water in the large pot and set it to boil.
While you're waiting for it to boil, grate the cheese and prepare your other ingredient (drain tuna, dice ham, or measure out peas).
Preheat the oven to 375F/180C
When the water boils, add the pasta to it. Set the timer for seven minutes. (Whole wheat pasta is NASTY if overcooked, so I err on the side of undercooking slightly. Some people prefer eight minutes cooking time.)

Make the sauce:
- Melt the butter over medium-low heat.
- When the butter is melted, "fry" the flour in the butter.
- VERY VERY SLOWLY add the milk, stirring constantly.
- Stir frequently and wait for the mixture to boil and thicken. It generally needs to be boiling for a full minute.

When you have pasta drained, then layer your ingredients in the casserole dish in this way: half of the pasta, half of the tuna/peas/ham, half of the cheese, the rest of the pasta, the rest of the tuna/peas/ham, the rest of the cheese. Pour the sauce over the top. Bake 12-15 minutes or until the top just starts to brown.

This will feed four as a main dish.

Comments

[ex_beautyofgr925]

I thought I might be the only person to make mac n' cheese from a roux! Most people look at me funny when I tell them there are no eggs...

I usually mix my cheese in with a slightly thicker roux (using either more flour or less milk, depending on how many I'm feeding). I think I'll try layering as you have done.

[exhausted_pigeon]

I thought everyone made it from a roux. How else do can you make it?

[ex_beautyofgr925]

I grew up with baked macaroni n cheese, which called for eggs as a binding agent, as opposed to using a white sauce or roux.

Maybe it's a southern U.S. convention?

[exhausted_pigeon]

It might be - I'm Australian, so I'm not sure what the general U.S. version would be, or which one is more common. But that baked one looks good - I'm tempted to try it.

[exhausted_pigeon]

Ack. I hit send too soon - I somehow thought of it as a kind of savoury egg custard with macaroni in it, which is why I was so confused initially.

[ex_beautyofgr925]

No, it does seem like it would be that way, but it's really quite good, and I prefer it to the roux-version...though it's not very healthy, obviously.

[exhausted_pigeon]

That's what I mean - it does sound good. And it's probably fine to eat every now and then, all things considered. :)