Spring Greens Stove Top Mac and Cheese

An easy creamy stove top macaroni and cheese studded with a healthy serving of spring greens that comes together in less than 15 minutes. Bowl optional.

For a lighter slightly more grown up, but equally quick, take on peas and pasta you might want to try my summer peas and angel hair pasta 

This is not a heavily sauced mac and cheese, there is a time and a place for that, but with one foot in winter and one foot in spring I’ve been trying to lighten things up, turn down the comfort volume to medium, intersperse some signs of warmer days ahead.  Each time I make this I up the amount of greens just a little more.

As I type the weather has gone from sun to hail to rainbows to rain. Such is spring.

Spring Greens Stove Top Mac and Cheese

makes two servings as a main, four as a side. one as a oh my goodness I haven’t eaten all day and this is impossible to stop.

ingredients

• 8 ounces of macaroni
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 ounce freshly grated romano or parmesan or other hard salty cheese (about 1/2 cup grated)
• 2 ounces freshly grated dill havarti (I’m sure substitutions could be made here-  cheddar, gouda, Monterey jack) if that’s the case you might want to add a pinch of dried dill to the milk)
• 1/2-1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup minced chives
• a healthy bunch (8-10 leaves)of basil, juillienned
• salt and pepper to taste

instructions

1. you can make this in a skillet like the cast iron pan pictured or a medium sauce pan.
2. bring about 4 cups of heavily salted (2-3 tsps of diamond kosher) water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until just tender
3. this is when I shred the cheese and julienne the herbs
4. right before removing the pasta from the heat add the frozen peas and give a stir, drain the peas and pasta and set aside
5. in same said pan or skillet melt the butter over medium/medium low heat and add the flour, stirring until the flour is completely saturated. whisk in the milk and whisk until smooth and just beginning to thicken and bubble. Remove from heat and stir in the cheeses, then add the pasta and peas. again stir to combine and then add the rest of the herbs ( I usually reserve a few to sprinkle on top for garnish). serve immediately, though it will keep warm covered on the stove for for 10-15 minutes if you’ve got other things to do.

Spring Greens Stovetop Mac and Cheese

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Cook Time 12 mins

Total Time 12 mins

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 8 ounces of macaroni
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 ounce freshly grated romano or parmesan or other hard salty cheese about 1/2 cup grated
• 2 ounces freshly grated dill havarti I’m sure substitutions could be made here- cheddar, gouda, Monterey jack if that’s the case you might want to add a pinch of dried dill to the milk)
• 1/2-1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup minced chives
• a healthy bunch 8-10 leavesof basil, juillienned
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• you can make this in a skillet like the cast iron pan pictured or a medium sauce pan.
• bring about 4 cups of heavily salted (2-3 tsps of diamond kosher) water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until just tender
• this is when I shred the cheese and julienne the herbs
• right before removing the pasta from the heat add the frozen peas and give a stir, drain the peas and pasta and set aside
• in same said pan or skillet melt the butter over medium/medium low heat and add the flour, stirring until the flour is completely saturated. whisk in the milk and whisk until smooth and just beginning to thicken and bubble. Remove from heat and stir in the cheeses, then add the pasta and peas. again stir to combine and then add the rest of the herbs ( I usually reserve a few to sprinkle on top for garnish). serve immediately, though it will keep warm covered on the stove for for 10-15 minutes if you’ve got other things to do.

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