Trois Chèvres Mac and Cheese
I love mac and cheese and Bobby Flay’s cauliflower gratin with goat cheese and started envisioning a hybrid of the two. Maybe roasting the cauliflower first, to get it caramelized and then mixing in the chèvre and pasta, with some homemade bread crumbs to give it a little crunch...
Ingredients
Ingredients
Cauliflower
- 1 small head of cauliflower cut into small florets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Mornay Sauce
- 3 cups whole milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup flour
- Salt and pepper to taste white pepper if you have it
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2½ ounces fresh mild goat cheese (about 3/4” slice from a log)
- 2 wheels Crottin de Champcol cut into chunks
Macaroni
- 2 cups elbow macaroni
- Butter for greasing the pan
- ½ wheel of Pico sliced into thin wedges
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower with the olive oil, salt, and pepper until well coated. Roast on a baking sheet for 25-30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from oven and set aside. If you’re going to cook the mac and cheese right away, turn the oven down to 350°F.
- While the cauliflower is cooking, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the elbow macaroni for about 10-12 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the milk in a medium-sized pot until warm, but not bubbling, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter over medium heat. When it’s melted, add the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to very low.
- Slowly pour in the warm milk, about 1 cup at a time, whisking constantly. It will get very thick and gradually thin out when all the milk has been added. Once all the milk has been added, raise the heat to medium and keep whisking. After about 3 minutes, the sauce should thicken again. If it coats a spoon, you’re good!
- Stir in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Start adding the cheese, stirring until it’s melted. When all the cheese has been incorporated, taste and adjust the seasonings.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add in the cooked elbow macaroni. Stir to combine. Add the roasted cauliflower and toss until evenly coated.
- With the butter, lightly grease a large gratin pan. Add the mac and cheese mixture. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and then dot the top with the wedges of Pico. Bake in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes until browned.
- Serve and enjoy!
Anne Maxfield
Anne Maxfield is the multi-talented serial entrepreneur behind the Accidental Locavore, a food blog designed to take the mystery out of farmer’s markets and teach you how to cook what’s local and fresh.
Goat Cheeses of France
Goat Cheeses of France is the official US campaign for spreading the word on the over 3,000 goat cheese producers and about 60 dairy companies responsible for the exceptional quality, shapes, textures, and tastes of the Original Chèvre.
