Green Mac & Cheese

Ok, this isn’t Italian, by any means, but guys, it absolutely tastes gorgeous. I would call this a recipe of Italian reminiscences as it reminds me of pasta al forno (bake pasta) but green  A (very) cheeky way to sneak more greens into your diet if you want.

There are very few dishes than can provide comfort like a good old mac & cheese, and as basic as it is I beg you, please level it up with a great cheese choice like Grana Padano, I’ve used a 16 months old for a full body flavour.

Chef’s tip: this dish is perfect for spring time as many green veggies hit the market like peas, asparagus, broadbeans but do not hesitate to swap it for any other you have laying around in your fridge, from broccoli to cauliflower and carrots, the color doesn’t really matter, as long as you enjoy them! If you have any fragrant herbs around, throw them in too!

Serve: 4 / 5 // Timing: 40m

Ingredients:

• 400 gr of conchiglie

• 250 gr of asparagus

• 150 gr of broadbeans

• 300 gr of swiss chard

• 250 gr of broccoli

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 lemon, optional

• 30 gr of toasted hazelnuts

• 300 gr of grated Grana Padano

• 2 garlic cloves

• 180 gr of diced fiord latte mozzarella

• 3 tbsp of olive oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Grana Padano béchamel

• 500 ml of milk (warm, if possible)

• 40 g of butter

• 40 g of plain flour

• 150 g of grated Grana Padano

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Nutmeg to taste

Wash, trim and chop all the veggies, be mindful of each of them, asparagus have woody end to discard and chard have chunky stalks to cook separately.

I saute the asparagus in olive olive with whole garlic cloves to give more flavour rather than boiling and blanch in salted boiling water everything else, just for a couple of minutes. In a separate pan caramelize the onion with olive oil and a pinch of salt and once golden and soft place it into a blender with about half of the cooked the veggies. Blitz until smooth adding water if you need.

To prepare the béchamel. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add in the flour. Cook for a couple of minutes while stirring, on a medium heat until the roux (mix of butter and flour) is golden. Then slowly pour in the milk and bring to the boil, while whisking vigorously. Boil for 2 minutes and then remove from the heat. The béchamel should be now ready, creamy and with no lumps. Stir in the grated Grana Padano cheese, until smooth. Season carefully with salt (as the cheese will have already made the béchamel tasty), nutmeg and a little black pepper. Set aside.

Cook the pasta until al dente in salted boiling then toss it into a large pan with the Grana Padano bechamel. Add the green pureè, the cooked vegetables, the diced mozzarella and of course more grated Grana Padano and mix well, adding pasta water as needed to make it loose.

When everything is well mixed and combined, level it up onto a baking tray and sprinkle over a layer of grated Grana Padano for the ultimate crunch after bake.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 25/30 minutes or until well golden on top and gooey in the middle. Let it set for a couple of minutes then serve straight away topped with toasted hazelnuts and optionally lemon zests.