This is another holiday dish that was a big hit. I have been making mac and cheese for years and it’s my first real dish that inspired all of this. I actually got the original recipe in middle school cooking class. For this occasion, I wanted to switch it up and make it a bit classier so along came Gruyere and broccoli! It was sort of tough to decide what to name this to hit on all of the key parts without saying and, and, and. In the end, I felt there and wasn’t and much and of a choice. And.
Start towards a roux by sauteing onions, garlic, salt, and pepper in butter. Once the onions are soft, add the flour.
Allow the mixture to cook at the same temp for a few minutes to thicken up, but be sure to keep stirring and keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. This is pretty much at the end of that process and ready for the milk. Stir the milk in until smooth and thick, but again watch for the mixture burning.
Add the cheese in at this point. As mentioned, I was only using Gruyere for this dish as opposed to combining cheeses that I have at other times. Once the cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth, you are ready for the broccoli. Actually, the large block of cheese was chopped into rough cubes and added to the mixture but some of the chunks did not fully melt. We decided to leave them and thought of it as prizes! We also knew that the cheese would melt and spread more once baked. I did get one of the prizes on Christmas Eve and felt like Ralphie when he finally got his Red Rider BB Gun. Anyway, chopped broccoli.
Having made this general recipe many times, I have been able to learn to time the sauce and noodles pretty well. Start the water and sauce at about the same time and send the noodles in at about the same time that you are adding the milk to the roux. Once both are done, combine them in one of the pots and pour into a baking dish.
Pre baked mac always needs a few sample spoons!
Once the mixture is in the dish, it can be thrown right into the oven or refrigerated. I made a double batch on December 23rd and took one tray to a Christmas Eve celebration and made the other with Christmas dinner. Check out the recipe, which is formatted for one dish which is 12 generous servings or more. The base roux and proportions are standard for my mac and cheese, so give this one a try or experiment yourself and let us know how it turns out!
Recipe for Gruyere and Broccoli Mac and Cheese
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Starving Kitten 