Saturday, 7 October 2017

Macaroni cheese (起司通心粉) with cauliflower and bacon

Macaroni pasta is from Italy but the dish macaroni cheese is of English origin, consisting of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly cheddarIt is called mac and cheese in America and Canada. This dish is an all-time favourite with children. To make it healthier for the children and to get them to eat vegetables, I substitute one third of the pasta with cauliflower and add bacon to provide protein.

 Cauliflower (菜花) is a member of the cruciferous vegetable. along with broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts. It is an excellent source of vitamin C, K, B group, protein, potassium, magnesium and manganese. Cauliflower contains anticancer compounds called sulforaphane and it helps lubricate the intestines and strengthen the spleen. When buying cauliflower, look for heads that are white or creamy white, firm, compact, and heavy for their size. There should not be any speckling of discoloration on the head or leaves. Avoid cauliflower with brown patches.

Ingredients
 300 gm elbow pasta
½ of a medium-sized cauliflower
3 slices streaky bacon
Cheddar, parmesan and mozzarella cheese
(Use only half of each cheese blocks)
I like to use different cheeses to give it a varied cheese taste and flavour


Cut the cauliflower into florets and lightly blanch in salted boiling water.
Strain and leave aside.
Keep 2 mugs of the water to use in the sauce.
Add more hot water and cook the pasta until al dente



Grate half of each of the cheeses





Melt a large knob of butter in the saucepan over low fire





When the butter has melted, add 3 tbsp plain flour and mix thoroughly with the butter, stirring constantly




Add 250 ml milk a little at a time whilst stirring constantly to dissolve the lumps




Add the water used for blanching the cauliflower
I use the water to reduce the creaminess of the milk so that it is not so fattening plus the water contains vitamin C from the cauliflower



Keep on stirring until the sauce is smooth





Add half of the grated cheeses to the sauce and keep the balance for the topping
Stir until the cheese has completely melted



Add 2-3 bay leaves





Season with salt and ground black and white pepper





Most recipes say to pour the sauce over the macaroni but I prefer to put the macaroni into the sauce so that they are thoroughly coated with the sauce



Add the cauliflower and mix well





Fry the cut bacon until slightly brown and fragrant





Put the bacon into the mixture and mix thoroughly





Spoon the mixture into a heat proof dish
Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top




Sprinkle some red chilli powder on the top to give it a nice colour





Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or place under a grill to brown the cheese topping.




Remove from the oven and serve with a green salad 

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