Poblano Pesto Macaroni and Cheese

Posted on | August 13, 2009 | 3 Comments

This Saturday, Mr. Natural here in Austin will be hosting a holistic fair and vegetarian cookoff challenge. I thought it fair to enter when I found out the top three entries will recieve $300, $200, and $100 respectively. That, and I’m the sixth entry The odds are good. I’ll be entering my Mexican Tofu Casserole. Hopefully, I won’t be going head to head with five Mexican grandmothers that have been cooking vegetarian all their life. I guess there could be some solace in placing sixth. Anyway, free massages, free food samples, and free massages (wait, I said that already). Judging starts at 2:30 and it will be held at the community center off Cesar Chavez. You can visit Mr. Natural’s web site for more details.

And speaking of contests (My friend Bogdan invented the segway. Not the cool thing you ride, but the somewhat less cool method of a continuation of one topic into another unrelated topic. It’s magical when you see him do it. Really, it is.) I’ve also entered into about seven other contests including one for best macaroni and cheese. Mind you, some of the people are nut jobs. A Granny Smith apple mac and cheese, a black truffle and bacon mac and cheese, and a lobster ravioli mac and cheese are some of the more interpretative examples. Me, I went with the leftover poblano pesto and quinoa macaroni mac and cheese. A little bit of spice, a touch of garlic, and a crunch topping made stove top and finished in the oven. No, this is not vegetarian nor is it vegan. Yes, it contains butter, milk, and cheese. Yes, it was friggin’ good. Yes, I will go back to eating vegetarian and yes, it was for a contest so I had an incredibly good reason to deviate. Much like my gin and tonic recipe challenge and my beer and hops sipping competition.

This recipe is pretty simple and can be made with any kind of cheese you prefer. The poblano pesto can stand up to a strong cheese so if you follow my recipe and use colby, I would augment with a sharp cheddar or something with a bit of sharpness or tang. Not that this isn’t going to be an award winner for its subtle flavors and creamy texture, but when you prefer the stuff out of a box it takes some work to create a from scratch dish that will live up to the expectations.

Poblano Pesto Macaroni and Cheese

8 oz – Elbow Pasta
1 – large poblano pepper
1/4 cup – toasted pine nuts
1 cup – cilantro leaves
2 cloves – garlic
1/4 cup – extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs – Tillamook sweet cream butter
2 tbs – all purpose flour
8 oz – whole milk
6 oz – Tillamook Colby Jack Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup – Panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp – Tillamook sweet cream butter, melted
1/4 tsp – garlic powder
1/4 tsp – onion powder
1/4 tsp – salt
2 oz – Tillamook Colby Jack Cheese, shredded, reserved for topping

In a pot, add 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions on box. Drain and reserve.

For poblano pesto, over a stove burner on high char poblano pepper. Allow to cool in a paper bag. Remove pepper from bag and remove charred skin. Reserve 1/4 of poblano and place remainder in a food processor (a blender can also be used).

To the food processor add pine nuts, cilantro, and garlic. Mix on slow speed while slowly drizzling in olive oil. Set mixture aside.

In a pot over medium heat add 2 tbs of Tillamook sweet cream butter and flour and stir to form a roux. Cook for 3 minutes. Add milk and stir to blend. Bring heat to medium high and allow to come to a slow boil. thicken until mixture can coat the back of a spoon, then add Tillamook Colby Jack Cheese and stir to mix completely. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, mix breadcrumbs and melted Tillamook sweet cream butter and stir to coat breadcrumbs completely. Finely mince remainder of poblano pepper and add to breadcrumb mixture. Stir to mix.

In a separate bowl, add pasta, 4 tablespoons of the poblano pesto, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and Tillamook Colby cheese sauce and stir to mix completely.

In a greased 9 by 9 inch baking dish add 1/2 of the pasta mixture and evenly spread. Spread two tablespoons of poblano pesto on top of pasta. Add remaining pasta. Spread two tablespoons of poblano pesto on top of pasta. Evenly sprinkle reserved Tillamook Colby Jack Cheese on top of pasta. Sprinkle breadcrumb/poblano mixture on top of pasta.

In a 375 degree preheated oven, bake pasta for 10 to 12 minutes or until breadcrumbs and cheese are bubbly and golden brown.

Makes 8 servings

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