Poblano Mac and Cheese
When the weather turns colder, I'm always looking for comfort food to go along with an evening snuggled in with the fireplace going. Andy and I love pasta, so naturally macaroni and cheese is a dish that we often find new variations on to try.
Recently I discovered a version of mac and cheese that adds roasted poblano peppers, so I had to try it out. The spicy kick isn't too bad as most poblano peppers are on the mild or medium heat spectrum, as compared to jalapeños, serranos or habaneros. In fact, I topped my dish with a generous amount of Frank's RedHot Original Hot Sauce, and Andy used one of his local faves, Cackalacky Pepper Sauce. Both were amazing and this will for sure go into our regular rotation!
Oh and we recently got new stoneware dishes that I love. We still have our colorful Fiestaware but these are just a bit more soothing right now. ;-)
If you're looking for a way to kick up a traditional mac and cheese dish, try this variation that adds roasted poblano peppers to the mix.
- 4 cup uncooked macaroni noodles
- 4 poblano peppers
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1/3 cup gouda cheese (shredded)
- 2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 1 tsp Everything But Elote ((From Trader Joe's, but any spicy seasoning would work))
- 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- Prepping the Peppers
- Cut poblanos and place strips skin side up on a baking sheet.
- Broil on high in the oven for 6-10 minutes or until the skins are mostly black. This can also be done without cutting into strips, just flip halfway through.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes, then place the strips in a bowl and cover.
- Once cool, remove skins and finely chop. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta
- While roasting the peppers, cook the pasta and set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF.
- Get a little cheesy
- In a large pot (and yes, I'm still in love with this Amazon Basics enameled cast iron dutch oven which I use for everything) melt the butter and slowly whisk in flour.
- Reduce heat and add the cream and mustard powder.
- Add mascarpone and the grated cheese. Once creamy add the peppers and seasonings.
- Add the drained cooked pasta to the pot and stir.
- Bake time
If using the dutch oven, you can put this right into the oven or transfer it to a wider baking dish. We prefer a ceramic bakeware set like this one. Before baking, sprinkle the top with panko bread crumbs, then bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes.
I topped mine with a generous amount of Red Hot Sauce and Andy used our other fave Cackalacky. Both were amazing and it will for sure go into our rotation!
