Wild Mushroom Macaroni Gratin

Macaroni and Cheese is a simple dish that conjures memories of comfort and special times for me, as my Mum would sometimes treat me to it when I was home from school, on a sick day. It was a rare and special delight.

These days, if I’m having a bad day at work or the pressures of life are weighing down on me a bit, I yearn for those simpler times without burden or responsibility, when I was at home being nurtured by Mum, having 'our' time, sharing a pot of tea and partaking in the joy of mac and cheese. The days seemed magical when we were stealing precious moments whilst Dad was off at work and the rest of the world was oblivious, carrying on their ordinary, everyday tasks. I would paint and draw to my little heart's content, I would play with the treasures in our button box and let my imagination go wild with my grandmother's fabric scraps. Sometimes, if I was particularly lucky, Mum would indulge me and would make little outfits for my stuffed animals and let me help with the sewing. Obviously you can see the appeal, why I might yearn for these uncomplicated times when pressures and responsibilities of adult life mount up!

Invariably when I’m in such a rut I’ll rush home and whip up a batch of Macaroni & Cheese, hoping to be transported to those moments of calm and serenity from my childhood. Unfortunately, each time I do such a thing I discover that my grown-up palate finds the humble cheesy pasta bake to be more than a little bland and stodgy – I am continually disappointed.

Recently, I received in the mail a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook, which had been on my Amazon.com Wishlist for almost two years before I finally gave in to temptation and hit “add to cart”. I've spent many hours it seems flipping through its pages, plotting and scheming. There are countless great recipes in this book, particularly if you are after vegetarian meals – I wholeheartedly recommend it, there is so much within the pages that I want to cook, and that I want to eat. One such recipe which caught my eye was a Mushroom Macaroni Gratin, by renowned San Francisco chef Gerald Hirigoyen. It was a little lighter than what I would prefer in a baked pasta dish (particularly as we were in the cooler months here whilst I was toying with this recipe), involving a simple sauté of mushrooms, tossed through pasta cooked to al dente and topped with a grating of gruyere, before being subjected to some baking time. Nevertheless, the cogs and wheels of my mind were set in motion and I considered tinkering with the humble Macaroni and Cheese, to bring the comfort of my childhood in line with my grown-up tastes.

The end result is definitely a good one! My grown up Macaroni with a grown up name, Wild Mushroom & Macaroni Gratin, is still cheesey and a little bit creamy, reminiscent of the traditional variety, but it is given substance and texture with delicious earthy wild mushrooms and strong, hearty greens. It provides the coziness and security of the simple Mac and Cheese I fondly recall, but the veggies cut through the stodge and add bags of flavour. Even better, it satisfies another requirement of our busy lives at W&W HQ - it’s delicious heated up the next day for lunch at work! Hooray!

Wild Mushroom & Macaroni Gratin
(serves 6)

What you need:

• 350g dried macaroni or small elbow pasta
• 2 cups silverbeet (swiss chard)*, washed and roughly chopped - I use the yummy stems as well
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eschallots, finely chopped
• a knob of butter (about 20g)
• 600g mixed wild mushrooms, roughly sliced about 1-2cm thick (depending on variety)
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tbs chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
  For the sauce -
  
  
• 20g butter
• 20g plain flour
• 1 tsp porcini powder (optional)
• 1 ½ cups milk
• ½ cup each of grated parmesan and gruyere cheeses
  
  For the topping -


• ¼ cup extra grated cheese (again, I combine gruyere and parmesan)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 165°C.

Melt the knob of butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Once the butter is foaming, add the eschallots and cook for a few minutes until translucent but not colouring. Toss in the mushrooms and garlic and stir to ensure an even coating of butter and shallot mix. Saute for about 5 minutes before adding the wine. Simmer uncovered for a further 5 minutes or until the wine has been almost completely reduced and absorbed by the mushrooms. Season generously with salt and pepper and stir through the parsley. Remove the mushrooms and their juices to a bowl and set aside.

For the sauce, I like to use the pan in which I cooked the mushrooms, to maximise the mushoomy flavour. Obviously, you can just use a saucepan. To make your earthy bechamel, melt the 20g butter in the saute pan over a medium-low heat until foaming, and stir in the flour. Cook the flour slurry (it's called a 'roux') whilst stirring for a few moments until it starts to bubble and turn a slightly nutty brown colour. Remove from heat. Using a whisk (I like a balloon whisk), add the milk in a slow and steady stream whilst continually whisking (this prevents lumps). Return the sauce to the heat, continue stirring and allow it to come to the boil. It will thicken as it boils. Turn down the heat once it has boiled and stir through the grated cheeses and porcini powder (if using). Taste and season with a little salt as necessary.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet directions. Here you want to make sure your pasta is a little bit firm - on the slightly uncooked side of al dente. Remember, you're going to swathe the little elbows in your delicious sauce and bake it in the oven. If your pasta is perfectly cooked when you finish boiling it, you will have overcooked it by the time it comes out of the oven and it will fall apart.

If you are using silverbeet, toss this into the pasta water for the last 7 minutes or so of the pasta's cooking time (this timing is reasonably flexible - don't worry too much about watching the clock. You just want to give the silverbeet a good blanching remembering that, like the pasta, this will continue to cook in the oven). Drain the pasta and spinach well.

Combine the pasta, silverbeet and reserved mushrooms (and their juice which will have accumulated in the bottom of the bowl). Stir through the cheesy bechamel and tip the whole lot in an appropriately sized baking dish (I use my standard lasagne dish), which has been lightly greased. You could make individual gratins in ramekins.

Sprinkle over the reserved ½ cup cheese and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 mins until bubbling and browned on top.

I like to serve mine with some steamed green veggies as below, but a salad would also be lovely!