BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE
with PEAS AND CHARD
Download PDFEAT CLEAN LIVE WELL | Winter | Page 258
I’VE MADE MAC AND CHEESE FOR MY KIDS more times than I can count. For years I had Annie’s Organic to thank, but now I go with this homemade variation and make my own “cheese.” I insist that we have to add something green, and peas and chard are always my girls’ top choice.
INGREDIENTS
| 2-1/2 | cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (about 1⁄2 small squash) |
| 2/3 | cup rice milk or water |
| 3 | teaspoons nutritional yeast |
| 3 | tablespoons chickpea miso |
| 1/2 | teaspoon garlic powder |
| 1/2 | teaspoon sea salt |
| Generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg | |
| 8 | ounces gluten-free macaroni |
| 1 | cup peas, fresh or frozen |
| 1 | cup shopped green Swiss chard |
| 1/2 | cup gluten-free bread or rice crumbs |
| 1 | tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling baking dish |
| Paprika | |
Preparation
Bring 1 inch of water to boil in medium pot with steamer rack. Add squash and steam until very soft.
Transfer squash to food processor. Add rice milk, nutritional yeast, miso, garlic powder, salt and nutmeg and process until combined and smooth. Turn processor off, scrape down sides and pulse one last time to combine all ingredients. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil an 8×8-inch baking dish.
Cook macaroni according to directions on package. When nearly done, add peas and chard to cooking water with macaroni and remove from heat. Drain and return to pot. Pour squash mixture into pot and fold to evenly coat pasta and vegetables. Transfer to baking dish and spread evenly.
In small bowl, combine breadcrumbs with olive oil and mix until moist. Spread over casserole, sprinkle with paprika and bake 30 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are lightly toasted. Remove from oven and serve.
SERVES 6
© 2014 Terry Walters | Photography by Julie Bidwell
2 Comments
Hi, loving your website and planning to order a book, ah, which one?? A happy dilemma! I would like to make this Mac and cheese for my girls but we have a chickpea and pea allergy. The peas I can just omit, but what about the miso? Could I substitute a different miso? Thanks! Looking forward to trying some new recipes!
Hi Linda,
I always think the most recent book is the most trend-forward and relevant, so the best place to start. That would be EAT CLEAN LIVE WELL. Of course, you can’t go wrong with any of my books and I never repeat recipes, so once you try one, I hope you’ll be drawn to the others!
The peas are an easy thing to eliminate and I would substitute sweet-tasting brown rice or mellow white miso for the chickpea. A 1-year fermented miso will be the best bet. Here are links to my favorites:
http://www.southrivermiso.com/store/c/1-1-Year-Miso.html
http://www.southrivermiso.com/store/p/11-Sweet-White.html
Enjoy in good health!
Terry
PS: If I can sign and ship books for you, just let me know. You can email me through the form on the contact page.