Mr. E. and I try never to let anything go to waste in our kitchen. So... as I was scanning the refrigerator on Friday so that I could create our grocery list for the next morning, I found a bag of what I thought were leeks that I had purchased the previous week. Realizing that their shelf life was probably close to expiring, I quickly scanned my cooking magazines for a recipe that included leeks and would satisfy our saturday comfort food craving. This recipe immediately struck my fancy.... However, Mr. E. and I have been trying to eat healthier in the cheese department as that lovely food is chock full of saturated fats! AND... Mr. E. fancies a four cheese macaroni and cheese prepared by Trader Joe's so we decided to alter the recipe in the magazine to meet both of those needs with four different LITE cheeses and 2% milk rather than whole milk...The only problem was that as I worked to prepare the food for dinner...I realized that the bag of leeks in the refrigerator, was actually a bag of bok choy. Whoops... thank you Mr. E. for making yet another trip to the grocery Saturday afternoon... We served it with a side of peppery arugula salad... Bellisimo!
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
* 5 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 5 large)
* 1/4 cup all purpose flour
* 3 1/2 cups 2% milk
* 1 pound Lite extra-sharp cheddar cheese, lite swiss, lite gouda and lite edam coarsely grated (about 4 cups packed)
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
* 2 large eggs
* 1 pound penne pasta
Preparation
Lightly butter 15x10x2-inch baking dish. Melt 1/4 cup butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks; stir to coat. Cover saucepan and cook until leeks are tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes (do not brown). Uncover saucepan; add flour. Stir 2 minutes. Add milk; bring to simmer, stirring often. Add cheese, mustard, and pepper sauce. Stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat. Season cheese sauce to taste with salt.
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Whisk eggs in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in 1 cup cheese sauce. Stir egg mixture into cheese sauce in saucepan.
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Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Return to pot.
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Stir cheese sauce into pasta in pot. Transfer to prepared baking dish. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
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Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake pasta until cheese sauce is bubbling around edges and some ends of pasta are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
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Let stand 15 minutes. Serve hot.
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Test-kitchen TIP
Unlike classic mac and cheese, which is thickened by a roux (a flour and butter mixture), this one uses eggs to make a rich, gooey custard. But be careful when adding the hot cheese sauce to the eggs; you'll need to whisk the sauce in slowly so that the eggs don't curdle.
Original Recipe from Bon Appetit, March 2009. Altered on 4/4/09 by M. Elton
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