chelsea'srecipes

10-12 ounces shells macaroni pasta 
1 large bunch Swiss or rainbow chard, chopped 
1/2 lemon, juice only 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1/4 cup unsalted butter 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
2 cups milk 
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated 
1/2 teaspoon white pepper 
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs, toasted 

Before I actually work on the mac and cheese, I thought I’d get the add-ins and toppings ready. The topping is really just Panko breadcrumbs that I toasted in a dry skillet over low heat for a few minutes until they are lightly browned. They add some awesome texture to the finished dish and take all of three minutes to make.

For the chard, I chopped up a whole big bunch of chard by cutting out the thick ribs and then roughly chopping the chard.In a large pot, add a drizzle of oil over medium heat and then toss in your chard. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and let this cook until the chard is nicely wilted. Again, this won’t take more than a minute or two.

Lots of pastas will work with this dish. Use your favorite or one that you have in your house. I went with little shells for this version because I liked how “Shells and Chard” sounded. Seriously, no other reason.

Cook the pasta until it’s just cooked through but don’t over cook it. Nobody likes mushy pasta.

When it’s done, drain it and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking on the pasta and make sure the pasta doesn’t stick together.

Stovetop Time

I’ve made a roux many dozens of times on this site, but for those who are new, making a cheese sauce is pretty darn easy. Make sure you use a large enough pot to fit all of your stuff: sauce, pasta, and chard. Add the butter and flour over medium heat and whisk it together until the flour starts to turn a light tan color.

Then start to slowly whisk in your milk.Pour too fast and you’ll end up with lumps so work slowly.

When all the milk is whisked in, let the sauce thicken a bit and then stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. You should have a really nice, creamy sauce at the end of it.

Then just stir in all that lovely pasta. It might look like way too much sauce for the pasta, but once the sauce fills in all those little pasta gaps, it’ll be alright.

As a last step, just stir in the chard, taste the thing, and adjust any seasonings that you want to adjust.