Mediterranean Mac and Cheese
Description
Monday night we had Ratatouille with orzo and last night it was this new mac and cheese with a green salad dressed with nectarines. I had fully intended to barbecue some sausage but Brock was late and it was either the girl’s music homework or meat, so vegetarian it was – and it was good! I found this recipe in Everyday Food, and I’m looking forward to our leftovers this evening (maybe with some sausage) – you’ll have to imagine what it looks like since I completely forgot about a picture.
Ingredients
Mediterranean Mac and Cheese
8 oz. brown rice macaroni (I weighed it but it’s a good 2 cups) – OR – try a 454 g box of Barilla macaroni and make a bit more of the sauce (I did still 1 can of tomatoes, but 3 c. milk, 1 1/2 c. feta, more olives and garlic)
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 c. pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 t. EACH dried oregano AND freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. butter
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/4 c. flour
2 c. milk, warmed
1 c. feta, crumbled
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 and grease a casserole dish. Cook the pasta until it’s just tender and get everything else going while it’s boiling.
In a small bowl, stir together the drained tomatoes, olives, oregano and pepper and set aside.
In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the garlic, letting it sizzle while you stir for about a minute. Add the flour and continue to stir until all is well blended – you’ll end up with a paste. Grab a whisk and whisk continuously as you slowly add the milk. Keep whisking until the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce the heat a bit and whisk until it’s smooth and thickened, this could take a few minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat and whisk in about 2/3’s of the feta, then stir in the tomato mixture. Combine everything with the drained pasta, turn it into your casserole and bake for about 25 minutes – keep in mind that you could also enjoy it straight out of the skillet if you’re in a hurry!
- Category: Pasta, Vegetarian
