mac and cheese go together like bacon and swiss chard.
Serves 4.
Preheat oven to 350°F. cook pasta and leave a bit firm since it will cook more after you put mac and cheese in the oven. for toasted breadcrumb topping:
- stale bread, about the size of two fists
- a few springs of thyme, leaves picked
- a couple garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (leave whole)
- olive oil
in a food processor make the bread breadcrumbs. in a fry pay hot with a glug of olive oil, toast the breadcrumbs, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper until the bread is crunchy. remove and put aside.
for mac and cheese: - 1 lb pasta. it doesn't have to be macaroni but should be short and not noodly. - 1 cup milk - 2 slices whole wheat sandwich bread - 2 tablespoons butter, divided - 8 ounce cheese shredded/chunked--like brie or white cheddar? Experiment - 1/2 cup gruyere shredded for melting - olive oil - 2 garlic cloves, minced - 4 strips bacon - like 5 leaves of chard, very roughly chopped cook the pasta. drain and set aside. cook the bacon. drain and set aside and crumble. while it's cooking, in a large saucepan, heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat.
whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. add milk, and whisk the mixture until the flour has dissolved and the liquid begins to thicken. remove from heat and mix in cheese, stirring until melted.
Add the cooked pasta to the cheese mixture and stir in the bacon and chard. put in a oven disk and top with breadcrumb mixture. place on a cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes.
