Macaroni and Cheese

This is a very nice macaroni and cheese. I reduced the amount of cheese to as little as possible, used whole wheat bread and olive oil. You can also use whole wheat elbow pasta.

Be sure to let the béchamel rest for 10 minutes. I made a lot of macaroni and cheese, were I would add cheese to the sauce and the cheese would become grainy. Drove me NUTS, so I did some research about this and I think that it has something to do with adding cheese to béchamel that is too hot. Once I started to let the sauce cool a little, the problem stopped.

Macaroni and Cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 cups milk, any fat

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (I prefer extra-sharp)

8 ounces dry elbow pasta

Crumb topping

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped fine

2 slices sturdy whole wheat bread

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped fine, optional (adds color but no flavor)

Boil pasta until almost al dente, drain and set aside. You want the pasta to be underdone. Drain well and set aside.

Add oil to a heavy bottom saucepan and heat until it shimmers. Add the flour, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, mustard and cook for a minute or so. Add the milk slowly to avoid lumps. I add about 1/4 cup at a time and stir until smooth, then add another 1/4 cup and so on until all milk is gone. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer for a minute. Take off the heat and stir it on and off for 10 minutes to cool. Add the cheese in batches and stir until it melts. Stir in the pasta and check for salt.

While the sauce is cooling prepare the crumb topping. Put bread into the food processor and pulse to make bread crumbs. You should have about 1 cup. Add oil and garlic to a cold skillet. Cook over medium heat until you smell the garlic. Add the parsley and bread crumbs. Toss to combine.

Pour into an oven safe baking dish and sprinkle the top with the crumb topping. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave it in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and eat!

The leftovers are not as good as fresh. The crumb topping becomes soft and the pasta a little drier. I still enjoy leftover macaroni and cheese.

Makes 3-4 servings