Modern Macaroni and Cheddar
Source of Recipe
Marla
List of Ingredients
1 cup low-fat (1 percent) cottage cheese
3/4 pound elbow macaroni or other short tube-shaped pasta
1/2 pound broccoli florets
Vegetable oil spray
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2/3 cup thinly sliced scallions, plus 1/3 cup
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups skim milk
1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, plus 1/2
cup (about 1/2 pound
total)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon paprika
Directions
Recipe
1. Process the cottage cheese in a blender or food
processor just until
smooth, about 15 seconds. Set aside. Cook the pasta in a
large pot of boiling
salted water for 7 minutes. Add the broccoli to the pasta
and cook until the
pasta is al dente and the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 3
minutes more.
Drain the pasta and broccoli well and return to the cooking
pot. Coat a
shallow 2-quart baking dish or 7x11-inch baking dish with
vegetable oil spray.
2. In a large, preferably nonstick skillet, heat the oil
over medium-low heat
and cook the bell pepper for 3 minutes. Add 2/3 cup of the
scallions and cook
until the peppers are softened, about 2 minutes more. Stir
in the flour,
mustard and cayenne and cook for 1 minute, stirring
constantly. Slowly whisk
in the milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened
and bubbly, about
5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk in the cottage
cheese and 1 1/2 cups
of chedsdar cheese until the cheese is melted and smooth.
Stir in the
Worcestershire.
3. Add the cheese sauce to the pasta and broccoli in the
cooking pot and stir
to combine well. Spoon into the prepared baking dish, then
sprinkle with the
remaining cheddar cheese and the paprika. (This recipe can
be made up to 4
hours ahead to this point and refrigerated. Return to room
temperature before
baking.)
4. Preheat the broiler or preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
If the recipe is
freshly made and hot, set under the broiler until the top
is flecked with
brown and the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. If the
recipe has been made
ahead and looks a little dry, you may need to add up to 1/4
cup water to the
baking dish. Cover with foil and bake until nearly heated
through, about 20
minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is flecked with
brown and the cheese
is melted, about 10 minutes longer. Garnish with the
remaining scallions and
serve immediately.
Makes 6 servings.
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