And now for some comfort food
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 10:16PM We've enjoyed some of the last high teen degree weather that will likely get in 2009 in the last week, and I took the opportunity to grill up some steak.
When I was craving some macaroni and cheese, I thought I'd use up the leftovers in this tasty rendition.
I had wanted to add in some goat cheese too, but unfortunately, my cheese had gone bad. Instead, I used some ricotta, which is milder, but added a nice richness. I like tomatoes with this dish as it kinda cuts through the all the cheese, but they're not necessary if you prefer to leave them out.
Steak and Tomato Mac and Cheese
2.5 oz cheddar
2.5 oz havarti
2.0 oz ricotta
1 oz grand padano
340g pkg. whole wheat pasta (rotini)
10 oz canned tomatoes
2 oz leftover steak, chopped into small pieces
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
2 shallots, finely diced
½ red pepper, finely diced
1 clove garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste.
In a large pot put water on to boil. Salt well, and cook pasta to al dente.
Shred the cheeses, combining the cheddar, havarti and ricotta. Reserve Grand Padano for topping. Drain tomatoes through a fine mesh sieve and let sit to extract most of the liquid.
In a deep saucepan, add butter over medium heat. Sweat shallots and red pepper, add a pinch of salt to help remove moisture. Add garlic and cook through. Stir in flour and cook for one minute. Heat steak in a separate pan.
Whisk in cold milk, a little at a time, incorporating well. Bring mixture to a low simmer.
Remove from heat. Add cheese and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste, then stir in cooked pasta.
Pour pasta and cheese mixture into a casserole dish and cover with drained tomatoes and grand padano.
Bake in 400F oven for 20 minutes or until top browns.
Vixen's note: You'll notice I weighed the cheese in this recipe. Each cheese has a different density, so it's the best way to get a proper ratio. In total, there is about 2 cups of cheese in the recipe.
Reader Comments (1)
Excellent... Followed this recipe and the final product didn't come out bad... Very nice!
_
ParaSlim