A baby sprouts macaroni and cheese!

As you can see from the variety of recipes found on this site, I do like my macaroni and cheese recipes! One night I just sat there, wanting something a little different, delightful, quick and easy, and with a bit of greens. It is right there, right at that moment that I created this new macaroni and cheese recipe, only this time with spinach and rockets.

What you will need for 4 portions:

- 1 lb. Macaroni elbows (I tend to use white flour pasta here, as I find the taste of whole wheat doesn't work well with mac and cheese)
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups of milk, lukewarm
- 1 cup of grated Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 cup grated old cheddar cheese
- 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- Paprika
- 1 good pinch of hot chili flakes
- 3 cups of baby sprouts mixture with spinach and rocket (aka arugula) - A great tasting veggie combination but you could use spinaches alone or rocket alone

How do you will make this now:

Cook your macaronis until al dente. Drain and reserve.

During this time, melt the butter in a large skillet until it bubbles a little. Add the onion and cook for one minute, until it becomes translucent.
Incorporate the flour and form a paste with the butter and the onion. Pour the hot milk and whip the sauce with a fork until the mixture thickens. Reduce heat setting.

Melt the 2 types of cheeses in this white sauce then add pasta while still hot. Incorporate the cheeses and blend until the whole thing is smooth.

Add paprika and hot chilli flakes. Add pepper to taste.

Incorporate spinach and rocket leaves, a handful at a time, while making sure that the previous handful changed color before adding more.
Put the skillet back on the heat for this step, over low heat setting.

Serve in hot bowls and garnish with grated romano cheese and dried oregano flakes.


Bon appétit!