Cauliflower Hatch Chile Macaroni & Cheese Recipe

There are certain dishes that no matter how many times I make them, I’m always looking for a better recipe. Macaroni and cheese is one of them. You know a good macaroni and cheese when you taste it. For me, it’s rich but not oily, gooey with melted cheese and with no graininess to the sauce. It’s also got a little sharp edge to it. I usually start with a bechamel, but I’ve never been convinced that it’s the perfect sauce base. 

I eat a lot of cauliflower and I’m by no means the first to discover that pureed it can stand in for all kinds of creamy sauces. For this recipe I was inspired by two recipes, one from Mark Bittman and another from Michelle Obama. Yup. Michelle Obama. It’s a recipe that is floating around the internet but I really couldn’t find very many comments from readers who had tried it, so I just went for it. The whole grain pasta and cauliflower addition make this a healthier recipe than some, but I still wouldn't call it healthy. 

My version of this recipe differs a bit from the Bittman recipe in that I use more cheese and a bit of milk. It differs from the Obama recipe in that I use macaroni, not penne and I used a bit less milk. Lots of recipes use different styles of pasta, but there is a reason why this dish is called "macaroni and cheese" it's because macaroni really is the best shape for it. I also flavored my mac and cheese with dry mustard and roasted Hatch chiles. This year for the first time I used mild chiles. My recommendation? Combine a little bit of hot or medium hot chiles with some mild ones to get plenty of chile flavor and just a hint of heat. This recipe is infinitely adaptable, skip the chiles, add more, or use whatever chiles you like best. 

Note: If you prefer a mac and cheese with a baked cheesy or crusty top, feel free to add one! I’m generally too lazy to bother. 

Cauliflower Hatch Chile Macaroni & Cheese 

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

1 pound whole wheat macaroni

1 pound cauliower, about 1/2 large head
1/2 cup milk 

1 teaspoon dry mustard, or more to taste

1 pound shredded melting cheese (I used a combination of jack and cheddar)

1 1/2 cups diced roasted peeled and seeded Hatch chiles, or more to taste (hot, medium, mild or a combination)

Instructions

Bring salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente then drain and set aside. In the meantime, boil or steam the cauliflower. When tender transfer the cauliflower to a blender along with the milk and dry mustard and puree.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Pour in the cauliflower puree, cheese and chiles and stir until the cheese is completely melted. Taste and add more mustard or chiles if desired. Serve immediately

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Mollie Stone's Markets and Melissa’s produce for giving me a 5 pound carton of roasted chiles. If you live in the Bay Area  there’s still several more dates during 2017 to attend a chile roast and stock up. 

Ebook Sale !!

These past few weeks have been very busy for us as we are moving to a new city and a new state in Australia! My husband got a new job in Orange, NSW so we are moving in 1 week with our twins to a new town! I have never been to Orange and I am really excited for the next adventure in our lives and live in the country so our twins can have a big backyard. 

In the meantime things have been a bit quiet around here and on my Instagram page as I am juggling studying, toddlers, planning a move and running for my half marathon tomorrow!! 

So this is a perfect time to do a sale on my Healthy Little Tummies for the next 4 weeks! Perfect for back to school in the northern Hemisphere too. 

Healthy Little Tummies

35+ healthy, plant-based, allergy-friendly and toddler-approved recipes!

Click Here to purchase my ebook on sale!

• PLANT-BASED NUTRITIOUS RECIPES FOR TODDLERS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
• Recipes tested and APPROVED by my own toddler twins!
• 35+ RECIPES including breakfasts, mains and sweets
• ALLERGY-FRIENDLY :Lots of nut-free and gluten-free friendly recipes and all dairy and egg- free
• Suitable for children aged 12 months +
• Suitable for vegan and non-vegan families
• Recipes developed and styled by myself
• Buy it now by clicking here

Pesto Veal Meatballs: Recipe

When I was growing up one of my favorite dishes was veal parmigiana. I adored the tender scallops of veal, breaded and fried then coated with tomato sauce and topped with gooey mozzarella. It wasn’t an everyday meal by any means, but I do remember requesting it for my birthday. These days when you hear the word veal it unfortunately brings to mind “veal crates.” Veal has become the poster child for the inhumane treatment of animals. But the truth is, individual confining veal pens are outlawed in many states and are being phased out altogether.

By the end of this year, veal crates will become a thing of the past. But that’s just the beginning of the misperceptions about veal. According to the American Veal Association, 100% of US veal farms are family owned, most are also family run and very small scale. No growth hormones are used and the animal's tails are not docked, their horns are not removed. Recently I met with Julie Rossotti of Rossotti Ranch. Julie comes from a Swiss dairy farming family in West Marin, but she raises animals for meat including veal. Her animals are pasture raised, never separated from their mothers. They are fed only on grass and their mother’s milk. Veal is also not “baby cows.” Animals are harvested at 6 months, the exact same age as pigs for pork. By comparison, chickens are harvested at just 3 weeks.

In addition to the tender texture and mild yet delicious flavor, there are other reasons to consider eating it. Grass fed veal is a revelation, it's tender and flavorful. Veal from pasture raised animals is better for the environment than beef, because the animals keep native grasses in check, naturally fertilize the land and produce less methane than larger older animals. They also use fewer resources like water and grain. Veal is healthier than beef; it has less fat, and is an even better source of some nutrients like protein, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins, and B-6. It’s also a good source of niacin and iron.

Note: I talked to Julie about the classic mixture of beef, pork and veal in meatballs. She told me about her recipe for meatballs made with veal and I was intrigued. I adapted her recipe a bit using some cream of rice cereal in place of some of the bread crumbs and for seasoning I used pesto. The meatballs were incredibly tender and it took barely any time to cook them. Best of all? They were even better the second day. Serve them with mashed potatoes (or cauliflower) or pasta. 

Pesto Veal Meatballs, adapted from a recipe by Julie Rossotti

Makes 4 servings, about 24 meatballs

1 pound ground veal 

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup cream of rice dry cereal

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup pesto 

Additional pesto for serving

Heat oven to 400 F. Combine the veal, bread crumbs, cream of rice, milk, egg and pesto in a bowl and gently combine with your hands. Using a tablespoon scoop the mixture into small balls and place in a greased foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve with additional pesto. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks for Rossotti Ranch for providing me with veal for this recipe. 

Peach Nectarine Butter Recipe

I can't help it. I love to experiment with recipes. But when it comes to canning, experimentation is not always a good idea. For safety sake, my canning recipes are usually just very minimal tweaks to recipes that I trust. When my second batch of fruit from Washington State Stone Fruit arrived last week I made low sugar nectarine preserves from one of my pal Sean Timberlake's recipes. Sean is the brains behind the do-it-yourself site Punk Domestics and a canning expert. I also made a combination peach and nectarine butter from another recipe I'd used in the past. 

I’m always eager for opportunities to adapt recipes and put my own spin on them and when it came to these recipes I was inspired to use some samples of bitters and an amaro from Greenbar Distillery. While it's typical to use them in cocktails, I asked Sean about the safety of using these ingredients as well as a bit of spice in canning. Here’s what he said, “Adding a small amount of alcohol or spices should not significantly impact the total acidity in a preserve of high-pH fruit (such as peaches and cherries). If desired, add a little ReaLemon (5% acidity citric solution) to offset it.” 

With Sean's reassurance, I used a tablespoon of Grand Poppy amaro in the nectarine preserves, and just a teaspoon of saffron bitters in the fruit butter. You don’t really taste it in either, but it adds lovely aromatic properties. With the preserves recipe I didn’t use any liquid with the nectarines because some of the fruit was very juicy. If you're wondering about Grand Poppy, it's an amaro that’s bittersweet and includes California poppy, orange, lemon, grapefruit, bearberry, California bay leaf, pink peppercorn, dandelion, blessed thistle, burdock, rue, artichoke, gentian, geranium, cherry bark and a bit of cane sugar. 

Peach Nectarine Butter, adapted from The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving

Makes 6 1/2 pint jars

Ingredients

10 cups of coarsely chopped and pitted peaches and nectarines, no need to peel

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups sugar

1-2 teaspoons Greenbar saffron bitters 

Instructions

Place the peaches and nectarines in a large pot with the water, lemon zest and lemon juice. Cook it over medium heat until the fruit is very tender. Use a stick blender to puree the mixture. Add the sugar and simmer for 30 minutes or until thick enough to cling onto a spoon. Add the bitters and stir. 

Lade into hot prepared jars (washed with hot soapy water). Leave 1/4 inch head space, wipe the rim of the jar if necessary. Apply the lid and twist on the band. Gently place in your canner or a large pot of water with a rack in it. The water should be 2 inches above the jars. Cover and boil for 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes then remove let cool. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Washington State Stone Fruit for the fruit and to Greenbar Distillery for the bitters and amaro. For more preserving recipes, check out Sweet Preservation.