Made this to feed the band at practice tonight. It had a truckload of cheese in it, but it DOES have some vegetables...used up 1/2 a head of cauliflower and one of our large tomatoes, plus a store-bought red pepper. You could easily add more veggies to this - a whole head of cauliflower would be fine, some greens, roasted squash...anything. This made a ton of sauce so it could definitely have more "bulk." I also tried adding an egg to this - not sure if it made much difference, but...bit o'protein!
- Cut a half or whole head of cauliflower into small florets. Toss with some olive oil, salt and spices (I used a garlic-onion blend and smoked paprika) and roast on a baking sheet for 20 minutes at 425.
- Grate up a bunch of cheese - I used a package of Cabot extra sharp cheddar, and most of a wedge of gouda. It was probably at least 4 cups grated.
- Make the cheese sauce: in a medium-size pot, melt 1 stick of butter over med-low heat and add 1/2 cup of flour. Whisk and cook for about a minute, then slowly add 1 quart of milk. Increase heat and whisk frequently. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and dry or prepared mustard. Cook until thickened but not too thick. Then remove from heat and whisk in most of the cheese - hold back some to top the casserole. Let sauce cool a bit while you:
- Boil 1 package of pasta - I used mini penne, but regular elbows would be fine. Drain when quite al dente as it will cook more in the oven.
- Beat 1 egg and add a couple spoonfuls of cheese sauce to temper it - then whisk egg into the pot of sauce.
- Combine pasta, sauce and vegetables (I also threw in a diced red pepper).
- Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish and pour in pasta mixture. Cut a large ripe tomato into 6 or 7 slices and lay on top.
- Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Then top with reserved cheese and broil for about 5 minutes, until starting to brown and crisp.
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