KathEats Presents: Mushroom Mac ‘N Cheese with Mustard Greens

Greetings mushroom lovers! I am thrilled to be a guest blogger for The Mushroom Channel! Please allow me to introduce myself: I am currently in graduate school working toward a masters in nutrition as well as the R.D. credentials. When I am not studying, I write a healthy living food blog, Kath Eats Real Food, also known as KERF, that follows my daily life through a photo journal of food and recipes. KERF has seen many-a-mushroom this year, and they are one of my favorite ingredients.

I have to admit, I haven’t always liked mushrooms. But the more I sampled them in pasta dishes, on pizza or in soups when dining in restaurants, the more I began to love them. I find them one of the most flavorful and fun recipe ingredients. Now that I am fond of mushrooms, I have to also say that I think they are one of the most under-appreciated vegetables for their amazing nutritional profile.

Perhaps because they are not green? Mushrooms* are an excellent source of selenium, riboflavin and niacin and are a good source of pantothenic acid, potassium and phosphorus¹. They contain ergothioneine, an antioxidant, as well as containing a host of phytonutrients, which exhibit anti-cancer properties. And recent research is shining a light on mushrooms’ capacity to provide vitamin D after having been exposed to UV-B light².

So now that I’ve paid my nutritional respects, on to the recipe! When I was asked to develop a recipe for my post I came up with a bunch of ideas, but none was calling my name that day as much as macaroni and cheese.

So I combined the two: mushroom mac ‘n cheese.

I added in mustard greens to beef up the vegetable-to-noodle ratio in addition to adding even more nutrients and some color. The end result turned out great! A little spicy, a little earthy (thanks to the ‘shrooms) and 100% filling. Don’t be intimidated by the homemade cheese sauce – it was one of the best I’ve had. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Mushroom + Mustard Green Mac ‘N Cheese (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

• 8 ounces whole wheat elbow macaroni
• 8 ounces crimini or button mushrooms, washed and sliced
• Cooking spray
• 4 cups mustard greens, washed, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1.5 cups low-fat milk, divided
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Directions

1. Cook pasta as directed.
2. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray and add mushrooms. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until tender.
3. Add mustard greens to mushrooms and cook 3-5 minutes more.
4. Meanwhile, heat 1 1/4 cups milk in a sauce pan until hot but not boiling.
5. Combine remaining 1/4 cup milk with flour, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, mustard, and salt and whisk together.
6. Add spices milk to the simmering milk and whisk in cheeses, being careful not to let the bottom burn. Stir until cheeses are melted.
7. Add pasta to vegetables and stir in cheese until combined.

1.   http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/list_nut_edit.pl

2.   http://www.ars.usda.gov/IS/pr/2008/081112.htm

* Crimini mushrooms only

If you like this recipe, you may also want to try Mini Mushroom Mac ‘N’ Goat Cheese

This entry was posted on Friday, January 30th, 2009 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.