Green Mac N Cheese
This Green Mac & Cheese has officially become a family favourite — and, best of all, it’s a delicious way to get the kids to eat more broccoli without any complaints! It’s creamy, cheesy and wonderfully comforting, but much easier and quicker to make because there’s no béchamel sauce involved.
Ingredients
Pasta
- 300 grams broccoli florets
- 300 grams elbow macaroni
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 leek sliced
- 250 grams mascarpone cheese
- 160 ml pasta/broccoli water
- 125 ml cream
- 200 grams cheddar cheese grated
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
Topping
- 70 grams fresh breadcrumbs
- 40 grams parmesan grated
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 1 lemon zested
Instructions
- In a large pot with plenty of boiling, salted water, cook the broccoli florets for 5-6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and rince with plenty of cold water to stop the cooking process. Chop in bite size pieces and put in a large mixing bowl.
- In the same water, cook the pasta 1 minute less than the time indicated on the packet. Keep about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain pasta and add to the bowl with the broccoli.
- In a skillet cook leeks and garlic until soft and beginning to colour. Remove from heat and add the mascarpone, 160 ml pasta cooking water, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Add mixture to the bowl with the pasta and broccoli. Add cheddar cheese and mix. Transfer to a baking dish. Sprinkle over the topping. Bake at 180˚ C for 30-40 minutes, until topping is golden and bubbly. Serve warm.