What you’ll need:
1 New York shaped skillet (*or any state skillet you fancy!)
1 1/2 cups dry macaroni tube shaped pasta
2 cups cleaned and chopped kale, stems removed
1 cup good quality cubed white bread
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing the skillet
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup grated white cheddar
1 cup grated pecorino romano or gruyere cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Put it all together:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease your cast iron skillet. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with one tablespoon salt. Cook pasta and kale together for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. *Note– undercook your pasta, – the noodles will finish out in the final bake*.
Make the sauce. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, 8 to 12 minutes.
Remove the sauce pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Add 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Stir the pasta and kale into the sauce.
Transfer the macaroni & cheese mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, and then the bread cubes. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes, or until the bread and cheese are browned.
For a more in depth tutorial & step by step instruction on how to make the Kale Mac’n’Cheese dish, head on over to Early Morning Farms Kale Mac’n’Cheese recipe page, and bask in the glory of their gorgeous meal prep dialogue.
Source the local ingredients for this recipe at http://www.localharvest.org/