Mac & Cheese with Comté and Broccoli         

This is a one pan mac & cheese I saw as an Ottolenghi recipe for a Thanksgiving side. We never had mac & cheese for Thanksgiving, but it looked good. Serves 4-6 as a side dish and 4 as a main course:

Mac & Cheese with Comté and Broccoli

• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 3 cups whole milk
• 11 ounces (2 ½ cups) fusilli pasta
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 1” cubes
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Scant ½ cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces broccoli, stems and florets cut into small pieces
• 8 ounces Comté cheese, grated
• Salt and pepper
• Fried onions or breadcrumbs for topping (optional)

Put the cornstarch into a wide oven-proof sauté pan on medium-high heat and slowly whisk in the milk and 1 ¾ cups water. Add the butter, garlic, mustard, ½ teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pasta. Bring to a simmer and stir in the broccoli. Bring back to a simmer. Turn the heat down to medium and cook uncovered, stirring frequently for 12-15 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente and the sauce has almost evaporated. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Add 2/3 of the Comté, a little at a time, stirring to make a smooth, creamy sauce.

Turn the broiler on to high. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and the fried onions, if using. Slide the pan under the broiler and cook for about 5 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove from the broiler, serve and enjoy!

My verdict:

This is not a low-calorie dish, but boy is it easy and good! It’s the first time, I’ve made mac & cheese this way, but now I may never go back to the traditional way of many pots and pans.

We happened to have a big chuck of Comté in the fridge and some broccoli, so that was the impetus for making this. Any other cheese (Gruyère or cheddar) would be good, or a mix of what you have in the fridge.

To add to the calorie count, I sauteed about 4 strips of bacon cut into 1/2” lardons before I added the cornstarch to the pan. Good but not necessary. Also good but not necessary–some fried onions to the top, for a little crunch.

The first night we had this, it was a little soupy, but the leftovers a couple of nights later were just perfect. This mac & cheese or some version of it, is definitely going on repeat.