Food Revolution Mac and Cheese

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution show made my very short list (read: we don’t watch a lot of TV) of shows to check out when it debuted a couple of years back.  What I like about Jamie is that he thinks of yummy ways to add veggies to food without hiding them, and I like to do that too. 

A while back I pinned his delicious looking mac and cheese recipe, and decided to give it a try. 

Of course, we tweaked the recipe to reduce the cheese, and increase the veggies even more.  Using extra sharp cheddar cheese gives you more flavor for fewer ounces of cheese, and we do love our veggies.  Hey – what can I say, I’m addicted to making food even better for us! 

Food Revolution Mac and Cheese – Adapted from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

• 1 (14oz) bag of frozen cauliflower florets
• 1 (14 oz) bag of frozen broccoli florets
• 7 oz (half a box) of pasta {macaroni or shells, preferably whole wheat}
• 6 oz. Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 C Sour Cream
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• sea salt & pepper, to taste

Begin by bringing a large stockpot of water to a boil.  Add in your pasta and boil until nearly done.  Then, add the cauliflower and broccoli to the pasta and cook for the last 5 or so minutes of the pasta. 

Meanwhile, find a heat-proof bowl that will sit on top of one of your saucepans.  Shred the cheeses into the sauce pan and add the sour cream. 

In the smaller saucepan, place about 1 inch of water.  Set the cheese in the bowl on top of the saucepan.  Turn the burner on to medium high and allow the steam from the boiling water to melt the cheese. 

Stir the cheeses occasionally, using a hot pad to carefully hold onto the glass bowl.  If the water is boiling too hard, it might splash out the top – so reduce the heat and use extreme caution during the cheese melting step. 

Add in the parsley, salt and pepper.

When pasta and veggies are done, drain them, reserving about 1/2 C of the pasta water.  Place them in a large serving bowl. 

Carefully remove the bowl of hot, melted cheese from the saucepan.  Allow it to cool for just a moment so you can handle holding it with a hot pad.  Then, pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and veggies. 

Stir to coat.  If the mixture seems a bit dry, add a little bit of the reserved pasta water to increase the creaminess. 

Sprinkle with additional parsley, salt and pepper, if desired. 

At this point, you can pop the dish in your oven to broil it until lightly browned and bubbly.  Or, serve without broiling – that’s what we did.  Mainly because we were too excited to try it!

We enjoyed leftovers with yummy grilled diced chicken thrown in – so consider adding that to the mix as well, for an all-in-one meal dish!

Linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesday

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