Truffle Mac & Cheese
A cozy dish starring sharp cheddar, Gruyere, and truffle salt for a total umami party in your mouth. This dinner comes together in 30 min, pairs beautifully with blanched veggies (they’re a good foil to the seasoned noodles), and you can bump up the nutrition by using whole wheat pasta, or in this case, Banza’s chickpea mac (I promise you can’t taste the chickpeas). This isn’t a sponsored post; I just love ways to get more veg in my diet without eating a straight up kale salad.
Why chickpea pasta? A 2oz serving of Banza’s chickpea macaroni has 13 g of protein, 27 g net carbs (32 g total carbs minus 5 g fiber), 3.5 g fat, and 190 calories. Which is a better nutritional profile than, say, Barilla’s mac that has 7 g protein, 39 g net carbs (42 g total carbs minus 3 g fiber), 1 g fat, and 200 calories. Plus, the chickpeas allow this dish to be gluten-free. Go chickpeas!
Truffle Mac & Cheese
photo by Banza
Ingredients - Get yer box grater out or buy shredded cheese, as shreds will melt more evenly into your sauce. Feel free to use an equal amount of regular or whole wheat pasta in place of the chickpea pasta. Makes ~5 servings.
1 T Olive oil
1/2 c pasta water (aka leftover water you’ll have from boiling pasta; it’s starchy and helps the sauce thicken)
3 T unsalted butter (definitely use unsalted butter if you plan on adding truffle salt)
1/4 c flour (to make this gluten-free, substitute with 2 T cornstarch)
1/8 t truffle salt (this is salt infused with bits of truffle. a little goes a long way! I got mine pre-ground in a tiny jar at Eataly)
6 oz Gruyere, shredded (~1.5 cups)
4 oz sharp cheddar (~1 cup)
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 t ground nutmeg
Instructions
For the pasta: Prepare pasta according to directions. When pasta comes to a boil, scoop out 1/2 cup of pasta water into a heat-safe bowl and reserve to use later for thickening up the sauce. Drain the pot well, add the 1 T olive oil and stir to coat the pasta so it doesn’t stick while you finish making the sauce.
For the sauce: Melt 3 T of butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Once melted, sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly to break up any lumps. Once smooth, add the 1/2 c of reserved pasta water & truffle salt, then mix until incorporated. Turn off the heat and add the Gruyere, cheddar, black pepper, and nutmeg; the residual heat will melt the cheese without burning it or causing it to seize up.
Add the sauce to the pot of pasta (or add the cooked pasta to the saucepan—your call) and fold to combine.
Voila, you’re done! Easy peasy cheesy…mac.
Details
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: ~5 servings
If you wanna be extra healthy, you can blanch or microwave a side of veggies to go with your pasta. I opted to steam a bunch of broccolini in my saucepan—1/4c water, broccolini, lid on, medium heat until the veg turns vibrant green. Squeeze a bit of lemon on top for a hint of acidity that cuts through the cheesy pasta.