MacAroni & Cheese with Vegetables
Submitted by dimplesassy
Bow-tie pasta in a cheddar-Parmesan cheese sauce with sauteed broccoli, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. A veggie-loaded mac and cheese made from scratch on the stovetop.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
35 minREADY
65 minThis isn’t the neon-orange box stuff. Bow-tie pasta gets tossed with a from-scratch cheese sauce built on cheddar and Parmesan, then loaded with sauteed broccoli florets, sliced mushrooms, and red bell pepper strips. It’s mac and cheese that actually counts as a balanced meal.
The cheese sauce starts with a quick roux: margarine, flour, then vegetable stock and milk whisked in until the mixture thickens. Both cheeses melt into the hot sauce along with basil, paprika, and black pepper. Using stock instead of all milk gives the sauce a savory backbone that straight dairy can’t match.
The vegetables cook separately in their own pan, just until crisp-tender. Tossing them with the hot pasta and cheese sauce right before serving means they keep their color and bite instead of going soft and army-green.
Pro Tips
- Cook the pasta to al dente, not soft. It absorbs some liquid from the cheese sauce and keeps cooking after tossing.
- Whisk the flour into the melted margarine off the heat before adding liquid. This prevents lumps in the sauce.
- Add the cheese to the sauce on low heat and stir constantly. High heat makes cheese seize up into a grainy, stringy mess.
- Cut the broccoli florets small and uniform so they cook at the same rate as the mushrooms and peppers.
Variations
- Swap bow-ties for penne or cavatappi, which trap cheese sauce inside their ridges and tubes.
- Add a handful of baby spinach when tossing everything together. It wilts into the hot pasta without extra cooking.
- Stir in a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the cheese sauce for a sharper, more complex flavor.
Ingredients
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to boil; cook pasta until al dente.
While pasta is cooking, in med saucepan, melt 2 tablespoon of the margarine.
Remove from heat; add flour and stir until blended in. Whisk in stock and milk, stirring over med heat until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.
Reduce heat to low.
Stir in cheeses and seasonings.
Continue stirring until cheese is melted.
Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large skillet, melt remaining 1 tablespoon margarine.
Add remaining ingredients.
Cook vegetables, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, until tender/crisp. Reduce heat to low.
When noodles are done, drain well. Toss with vegetables; stir in cheese sauce.
Garnish with scallion curls.
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