This was dinner tonight.
Very simple and easy on a sore throat (I taught today with handsigns and writing on the board–awkward, but it kept my kids very attentive, which was super, especially given that there is one more week left for the year). I suppose you could take out the spinach, but we are constantly getting spinach in our vegetable share, and it’s too much for me and Nathan to eat raw, so I usually end up sneaking it into a lot of different places on the weeks we get it.
I adapted the recipe from Here in America’s Test Kitchen. I’m typically not a fan of Cook’s Illustrated in general because the tone in their recipes always seems so know-it-all, but this really is a good recipe.
Spinach Macaroni and Cheese
1 small bunch of spinach, washed and spun dry
1 egg
1/2 cup of milk (I like a combo of half and half and 2%)
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (I use Sriracha because I love Vietnamese food and would be lost without it)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard dissolved in 1/2 tsp water
4 oz elbow macaroni
2 T butter
6 oz grated cheese (today I used a combo of sharp cheddar and goat’s milk monterey jack)
Bring some salted water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until the spinach is tender–about 2 minutes. Fish the spinach out of the water with a strainer and press out as much water as you can from it. Chop the spinach once you have finished wringing out the water.
Mix the egg, milk, pepper sauce, worcestershire, salt, and pepper, and mustard mixture in a small bowl and set aside.
Cook the macaroni in the water you used to cook the spinach in until it is still a little firm (you will cook it more). Drain it and return it to the same pot and toss with the butter over a low heat. Pour the egg mixture over the macaroni along with the cheese and the spinach. Stir until it starts to thicken and the cheese is melted (about 5 minutes). Bon Appetit.
