Kale Pesto Mac & Cheese
For the past couple months I’ve been a juicing maniac. Between being tired of cereal and trying desperately to lose those last five pounds of baby weight, I thought juicing might just be the ticket. Since I have an awesome juicer I love, and what there’s all those fruits and veggies available at my farmer’s market, juicing was pretty much a no brainer. And believe it or not, it worked. I’ve actually lost a couple pounds. But more than that, I’ve really enjoyed mixing up a big glass of fresh juice every morning. There’s only been one problem: what to do with all that pulp.
I hate to waste anything. So, watching all that delicious pulp end up in the out shoot of my juicer was killing me. But then I found a recipe for pesto mac & cheese in Better Homes & Gardens and I realized I could save the kale shavings to make a delicious pesto. So that’s exactly what I did.
But now there was another problem: the recipe in the magazine called for store bought pesto. Ick! Not only am I not a fan of basil pesto, all the store bought varieties have nuts in them. Nuts means the hubs can’t eat it. So, if I’m going to have a nut-free pesto, I have to make it myself. That’s no problem, of course since pesto is one of the easiest things to make. It also gives me the opportunity to make any kind of pesto I want from pea to arugula to, you guessed it, kale. So now I had kale pesto to spoon over pasta or fish or anything else I wanted and I wanted mac & cheese. Okay, so the kiddies wanted it. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to use that little blue box. My mac & cheese will be homemade dammit!
Now before you get all uppity thinking that I’m belittling the blue box, I’m not. It’s just not for me. And if you think my mac’s too sophisticated, trust me, it’s not. I actually use American cheese. (Shhhhh… don’t tell anyone.) Why? Well because I and the kiddies love it. Not only does the mac taste amazing, but only American cheese gives the mac that creamy texture I crave in my mac. But just because I use American cheese doesn’t mean I use Velveeta. I use the American cheese from the deli counter. It tastes much better, there aren’t any questionable ingredients in it and it melts like a dream. It also masks the taste of the kale.
While I love kale in salads, juice and pesto, my son is not a fan. But mixing it into mac & cheese gets him eating the potassium-rich veggie without a fight. Sure, he’s not wild about the green flecks, but once he takes a bite, he’s in love… and so am I. Something tells me you will be too.
Kale Pesto Mac & Cheese
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch kale
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cups dried elbow pasta
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- dash pepper
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup non-fat milk
- 8 ounces sliced American cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
- Place the kale, Parmesan and garlic in a food processor and pulse a few times to chop everything up. Then turn on the processor and pour the olive oil through the feed tube in a slow steady stream. Once thick, add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain and return to the pot.
- For the cheese sauce, place the butter in a large sauce pan and melt over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the flour and pepper. Pour in the milk and cook until thickened and bubbling. Add the cheese, stirring until melted. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the pesto.
- Pour the cheese/pesto sauce over the pasta and stir to coat. Cook over low heat until the pasta is heated through, 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately.
