Recipe: Shepherd's Mac (shepherd's pie topped with macaroni and cheese)

SHEPHERD'S MAC
"We don't use many different kinds of meat at Homeroom. We have an unusually small kitchen for a restaurant, meaning our refrigeration space is extremely limited. So when we started writing this cookbook, we were super-excited to experiment with a whole slew of ingredients that just wouldn't work in our cramped kitchen. There's only one thing that can possibly be more comforting than Shepherd's Pie, and that's Shepherd's Pie topped with mac and cheese - layers of ground beef, sauteed veggies, and creamy mac, topped with panko and baked until gooey and bubbling. The Brits were definitely on to something when they created this savory pie. It's too bad they missed out on the best part: the mac."



1/2 pound dried elbow pasta
3/4 pound ground beef
Kosher salt
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained
2 cups Mac Sauce (recipe follows)
2 cups grated aged, sharp English Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until a little less than al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain the pasta again.

Add the ground beef to a large saute pan and season with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Cook over medium heat, breaking the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until cooked through and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a large bowl.

Add the onion and carrots to the saut pan and cook in the fat rendered from the ground beef, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the peas, and continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes. Add the veggies to the bowl with the meat and stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Add the sauce and cheese to a large, heavy-bottomed pot and cook over medium heat. Stir until the cheese is barely melted, about 3 minutes. Slowly add the cooked pasta, stir, and continue cooking while stirring continuously until the dish is nice and hot, another 5 minutes.

Spread the ground beef-veggie mixture in a 14-inch casserole pan. Spoon on the mac and cheese in an even layer, and finish with a layer of panko.

Bake until bubbly and the topping is golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Spoon into bowls and serve hot.

MAC SAUCE (BECHAMEL 101)
Makes 3 cups

"This simple, creamy, and delicious sauce is the base for all of our mac and cheese recipes. The French call it bechamel. We call it Mac Sauce. We're pretty certain this sauce will change your life - it has certainly changed ours. Once you learn this recipe, you can make countless varieties of mac and cheese just by adding whatever tasty cheese you like, starting with little else than what you have in your fridge. And the great news is that it's really simple - just flour, butter, milk, and salt. The secret is in the whisk - once you've added the milk, just keep stirring and before you know it, your sauce will be thick, creamy, and the foundation of many awesome mac and cheeses to come. This recipe makes three cups of sauce - the recipes call for two, but it is wise to make a little extra in case someone wants their mac a bit saucier. It is also somewhat difficult to make only two cups of sauce because you don't have much liquid to work with - so we've found that three is necessary for the easiest preparation.

You can use Mac Sauce to make amazing biscuits and gravy if you just fry up bacon and add the bacon grease and chopped up bacon. You can also make chicken a la king if you add cooked chicken and peas, and serve it over rice. Mac Sauce is also great as a base or thickener for soups like clam chowder or cream of potato.

A few other things to consider when you are making your Mac Sauce - use whole milk. Don't cut corners and use low-fat or nonfat milk or it will end up tasting watery and gross, resulting in a rather sad-tasting mac and cheese. Also, if you have one around, it's best to use a heavy-bottomed pot to cook the sauce because it will keep the milk from burning and will allow it to cook evenly. One last thing - pay attention to the type of salt you use because it makes a difference."

3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt or
1 teaspoon table salt

Heat the milk in a pot over medium heat until it just starts to bubble, but is not boiling, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a separate, heavy-bottomed pot. When the butter has just melted, add the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Slowly pour the warm milk, about 1 cup at a time, into the butter-flour mixture, whisking constantly. It will get very thick when you first add the milk, and thinner as you slowly pour in the entire 3 cups. This is normal. Once all the milk has been added, set the pot back over medium-high heat, and continue to whisk constantly. In the next 2 to 3 minutes the sauce should come together and become silky and thick. Use the spoon test to make sure it's ready. To do this, dip a metal spoon into the sauce - if the sauce coats the spoon and doesn't slide off like milk, you'll know it's ready. You should be able to run your finger along the spoon and have the impression remain. Add the salt.

The Mac Sauce is ready to use immediately and does not need to cool. Store it in the fridge for a day or two if you want to make it ahead of time - it will get a lot thicker when put in the fridge, so it may need a little milk to thin it out a bit when it comes time to melt in the cheese. Try melting the cheese into the sauce first, and if it is too thick then add milk as needed.

Makes 4 servings
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Ten Speed Press
Source: The Mac + Cheese Cookbook by Allison Arevalo and Erin Wade