Mac and Trees

Ingredients
  • ~3 cup grated cheese (your choice--I had four bags of sharp cheddar, but you could use Monterey Jack, Swiss, Gruyere--just use whatever you have that you think will taste good)
  • 5 oz diced pancetta
  • 2-3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • ~2 cup milk
  • ~1 tbsp dry sweet basil
  • ~1/2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
  • 2-3 cup broccoli or broccolini--cut into bite-sized "trees" (this is another ingredient that is flexible--if what you have on hand is asparagus, use those. Cauliflower? use that. Green beans? no problem...)
Instructions
  1. 1
    Boil well-salted water for pasta and cook pasta according to package instructions. At the last couple of minutes before the pasta is done, add the "trees" and cook along with the pasta. Drain pasta and trees and set aside.
  2. 2
    Saute the pancetta in a large, heavy sauce pan until it's crisp.
  3. 3
    Add the flour and mix thoroughly to incorporate flour into the fat. Continue to cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly, so as not to let the flour brown.
  4. 4
    Add milk to the resulting roux and whisk until incorporated, watching for lumps. Adjust milk as necessary--you want the mixture to be thick, but not gloppy.
  5. 5
    Add cheese and stir to mix. Allow the cheese to melt into the cream sauce, stirring frequently and watching the heat to make sure the sauce doesn't separate.
  6. 6
    In a mortar and pestle, add the sweet basil and lemon-pepper. Grind until the sweet basil is somewhat broken down. Sprinkle over the sauce and stir to incorporate.
  7. 7
  8. 8
    Return pasta and trees to their original pot and pour the cheese sauce over top of the whole thing. Mix thoroughly and taste for salt and pepper--add as needed. And that's a YUM!! Enjoy with a nice Pinot Noir, or better yet--make it a party and open up a bottle of champagne--trust me--it goes great with this dish!
  9. 9
Read it online: https://thestonesoupcook.com/recipe/mac-and-trees/

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