I think this is the 4th mac & cheese recipe I've posted here - and the second one with roasted cauliflower (here's the first one). But this one is quite a different technique. I'd run across this recipe from the NY Times awhile ago, and it was intriguing: no white sauce, contained cottage cheese, and you put the pasta in uncooked. I never have cottage cheese on hand though, so I filed it away...
A couple weeks ago I randomly decided to buy cottage cheese at the grocery store, having not exactly a craving, but a curiosity as to whether I'd enjoy eating it again as a healthy snack - it's been years. I had it with some fresh pineapple, and...meh. No desire to make that a snack habit. So most of the container sat at the back at the fridge until...
We're on our 5th day shut in from Snowzilla and we've eaten our way through the chili I made on Day 2. I had cheese, and plenty of milk and half & half. So mac & cheese sounded good...and behold! I can try the recipe with cottage cheese! I adapted the original recipe as follows:
- used half milk and half half & half (hah!)
- dijon instead of dry mustard
- probably did not use quite a pound of cheese...I used a mix of sharp cheddar, some kind of odd cheese with peppedew peppers, and 3 slices of American cheese, 'cause that always adds to creaminess.
- I used "mezze rigatoni" instead of elbows. I was a little nervous about throwing that larger pasta in uncooked, but it was fine...in fact, it was almost a little too done for my taste after a full hour of cooking.
- I also blended just the cottage cheese with an immersion blender instead of blending the milk and everything together at once. I thought that way would break up the cottage cheese more.
- And of course, added some roasted cauliflower. Even though I added it halfway through the cooking, it pretty much melted completely into the mix (so this would be a good "hidden vegetable" dish). I had not added the whole head but probably could have.
The verdict - it was tasty, cheesy and creamy, but I'm not sure I'll use this method again. I didn't actually find it any easier than making a white sauce and boiling the pasta separately. But if you stress out about the white sauce method, this one's worth a try. And I think my cottage cheese experiment will not be repeated. Anyhoo, here's my version:
Roasted Cauliflower:
- Cut 1 head of cauliflower into tiny florets. Toss in olive oil, salt and spices - I used roasted garlic powder and oregano.
- Roast on a baking sheet at 425 for about 15 minutes. Stir and pop under the broiler for a few minutes until it gets nicely browned.
Cheese Sauce:
- Blend 1 cup of cottage cheese with an immersion blender (or regular blender) until smooth. I blended it right in its container and then put in a large bowl.
- Mix in two cups of milk (I used 1 cup milk, 1 cup half & half), a squirt of dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp salt and some cayenne and black pepper.
- Grate 2-3 cups of cheese - definitely some sharp cheddar. Hold back a large handful for topping, and add the rest to the milk mixture. I also put in 3 slices of American cheese, torn into small pieces.
- Add 1/2 box dry pasta (elbows or other chunky shape) and stir to combine.
To cook:
- Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 2 qt baking dish. Dump in the pasta mixture.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and stir. Then stir in most of the roasted cauliflower. You may be able to add it all depending on the size of your baking dish and how big the cauliflower head was. But if it looks like the liquid isn't mostly-covering everything, it's better to hold back some.
- Top with the remaining cheese and bake another 30 minutes. I also broiled at the end.
- Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- The NY Times says this makes 6-8 servings. Uh...maybe more like 3 if this is your whole dinner (and you're a mac & cheese freak).
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