Baked Pasta with Spinach & Paprika
The best part about an enduring classic like macaroni and cheese is that it’s so darned customizable. Classics are classics for a reason, after all — most are elegant and simple basics that can be served just as they are or used as a springboard for kitchen creativity. Most can also be changed to suit your dietary needs and tastebuds.
Can’t have gluten? Use corn pasta (or brown rice, or quinoa, or amaranth). Need to make a milk-and-flour-based roux? Try masa harina (the lime-treated corn flour used to make tortillas) and rice milk (or almond or coconut if a nutty flavor would pair well with the overall dish). Portabello mushrooms, nuts, lentils, and eggs make great stand-ins for meat. If you do eat meat, substitute lamb for beef to see how that would taste. Or pork for chicken. (Note that pastured meats all have very distinct flavors and are much more exciting than factory meat to work with. Just be sure not to overcook them — the fat in pastured meat is much softer than the hard marbling you find in grain-fed factory livestock; as a consequence, pastured meat cooks much more quickly.)
Baked Pasta with Spinach & Paprika (with gluten or without, as you please)
2 servings uncooked whole-grain pasta
2 T. masa harina (or standard wheat flour)
2 T. butter
About 1 cup whole milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red pepper, minced
About 1 cup total of mixed cheeses, preferably from grass-fed animals (Asiago and Gruyere are a particularly good combination; hard Cheddars and other hard Italian cheeses such as Parmesan and Romano would also work well)
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chili powder (optional)
About 2 handfuls baby spinach
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ pie pan and set aside. Prepare enough noodles for two people (there are usually 8 servings per box) according to package directions, rinse with warm water to reduce stickiness, and let drain. Set aside.
To make the roux:
The basic idea is to use equal parts of butter and flour and then anywhere from 1/2 cup to a cup of milk depending on how thick you want your sauce to be and what else you’ll be putting in it. (For this baked pasta, the sauce should be medium-thick so that it becomes thick when the cheese is added; if it starts out thick, the cheese will make it too thick.) Melt butter over medium-low heat, then whisk in flour. Continue to cook, constantly whisking, until the butter has turned slightly brown. Slowly pour in a tablespoon or two of milk and keep whisking. Pour in a little bit more milk. The goal is to whisk the sauce into velvety smoothness rather than winding up with clumps of buttery flour because you dumped in the milk all at once. If the butter is furiously bubbling, reduce the heat to low.
When your sauce is smooth and has a attained a good thickness, whisk in the red pepper, garlic, and spice(s). Continue to stir and cook until cheese has blended in. Immediately remove from heat, toss with spinach and cooked pasta, and pour into greased pie pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is golden-brown. Garnish with halved cherry tomatoes if desired.
Enjoy!
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