Creamy Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese

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I really don’t like cauliflower. I don’t like it at all. I don’t cook it at home, I don’t order it in restaurants.  Since I moved out of my parents’ house, I’ve probably had cauliflower maybe twice.

However, recently, I may have discovered cauliflower’s raison d’etre: as an addition to that runner-fuel classic, macaroni and cheese. It turns out that when you boil the living cr@p out of it, run it through a food processor and mix it with cheese, it becomes quite palatable. I’d been having a macaroni and cheese craving for a couple of weeks so I looked up a healthy recipe online and Mr. Shuffler gave it a whirl. It was extremely tasty. This recipe was developed by Mark Bittman, marathon runner and author of books such as How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Creamy Cauliflower Mac
1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 cauliflower, cored and cut into large pieces
8 ounces whole-wheat elbow macaroni
1/2 cup grated cheese (such as sharp cheddar, Gruyere, or Emmental, or a combination)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup whole-grain bread crumbs

Directions
Heat oven to 400° F. Boil a pot of salted water.
In a saucepan, warm stock and bay leaves on medium-low heat for five minutes; turn off heat.
Cook cauliflower in boiling water for 25 minutes. Put cauliflower in a food processor.
Cook pasta in boiling water for five minutes. Drain and rinse to cool; put pasta in a greased, nine-inch square baking dish.
Process cauliflower with stock (discard bay leaves), cheese, oil, mustard, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, working in batches.
Pour sauce over pasta, toss, and spread evenly in dish. Top with Parmesan and bread crumbs. Bake 20 minutes. Serves four.

Wine rec: A creamy, oaked Chardonnay would be perfect with this.

CALORIES PER SERVING: 420
CARBS: 57 G
PROTEIN: 20 G
FAT: 15 G