Drop everything.

Stop what you are doing right now, go buy a can of Hatch chilis, and make this mac and cheese.

Yep, them's the ones.

I'm serious.  This dish was so mindblowing, the power went out in awed respect.  All over the city.  It's just that good!

Here's the burner in the pitch-black kitchen.  

Last year, my BF's geeky job gave everyone in his team a flashlight called a FireSword, and it's so strong there's a caution against shining it into people's eyes.  Rumor has it, police actually do that to blind people temporarily.

When he shined that sword directly at our white ceiling, our kitchen was the first - and brightest - lit space in the whole city!  Imagine the rest of the room and the city as far as you can see - usually a glowing metropolis - pitch-black.  And then imagine the FIRESWORD!  Here's BF and Roomie posing in the light.  Nice thumbs-up, there.

Lucky for us, I was nearly done by the time the power went out.  

Then, our generator kicked in and we ate.

I found this recipe on Macheesmo through trollings on Gojee, and proceeded to mess with it like crazy.  Starting with the pasta!  We found "creste di galli" pasta at the store (that's cockscomb in Italian) - too fun to resist.  They are elbow macaroni-shaped with a squiggly cockscomb, and these two features tag-team to catch and hold as much sauce as possible.  I really wanted that for such a stunningly tasty cheesy sauce.

My family and friends richly adorned my kitchen in the recent gifting season.  One of my favorites: five differently-sized prep bowls.  Now I can measure my ingredients into those bowls before I get started cooking, and voila!  When the recipe calls for 2 tbsp of flour, I don't have to go digging into the flour sack - I can tip the pre-measured prep bowl into my pan.  Just like a TV chef.  They also double as cute and convenient serving bowls.  

Now, for the recipe.  I encourage you to check Macheesmo's page out.  The power outage distracted me from taking pictures of my process, but he's got one of every single stage!  He also roasted his own poblano chilis on his stove.  Next time, next time.  Whenever I next find fresh poblanos in Accra...

If you're not so brave, patient, or ingredientally blessed, try and find yourself a can of Hatch chilis.  If even those are beyond your means, bottled sliced jalapenos would do.  So would fresh ones, for that matter, for a cleaner taste.  Use as few or as many as your heart desires.  For how much Hatch I used, I'd substitute 3-4 fresh jalapenos or about 200g of bottled/sliced.


I made the black beans from scratch, but you can easily use canned.  Also I added a handful of mushrooms to the roux which added a lovely earthy flavor to my sauce.  Finally, Macheesmo used some shredded chicken, while I kept it veggie.  Check his page for more chicken details.

What can you expect from this recipe?  As I've mentioned before, BF doesn't understand the pull of mac and cheese as a main dish the way we Americans do.  Even he said, "Wow, this is good."  You've got black beans and sweet corn giving substance and toasted panko giving new textures apart from the squishy pasta.  You've got tingling chilis plus smoky paprika and cumin to offset the creamy cheese sauce.  All in all, I'd call it a very Southwestern-style mac.  In my book, Southwest is the Best.  


With no further ado!

Green Chili Mac and Cheese

Adapted from Macheesmo

Serves 3-4

Prep time: 2 hours plus overnight to soak the beans; 45 minutes if using canned beans

Ingredients:

For the beans:
1/2 cup dried black beans

2 tbsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

2 fresh jalapenos, sliced

Pasta:
250-300g (1/2 pound) pasta - I encourage one with holes or other sauce-catchey features

For the sauce:
4 tbsp butter

1/2 medium red onion, diced

1/4 cup button mushrooms, sliced thin

2 tbsp flour

350 ml (1 1/2 cups) milk

250g (1/2 pound) medium cheddar, shredded

1 can Hatch chilis (or see alternatives above)

1/2 cup sweet corn kernels

Etc:
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

For the beans (skip if using canned):

Soak the beans overnight in enough water to cover them, plus another two inches of depth.
The next day, drain the beans and boil them in a fresh batch of water with cumin, paprika and jalapenos.  Don't add salt to the water; it will make them hard.  Refill the pot with more boiling water when necessary.  Always keep the beans covered.  Cook for 60-90 minutes or until the beans are tender.  Don't skimp on the time.  

When the beans are tender, drain them and set aside.

For the sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.  Add onions and sweat 3-4 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and fry until the mushrooms are cooked through.  Stir in the flour and continue to cook until the flour has just started to color.

2. Slowly whisk in the milk in two parts.  Keep stirring constantly until it thickens to the consistency of a light gravy.  Add the cheese and keep stirring, until the mix thickens a bit more.  When all the cheese is melted in, add the chilis, beans and corn.  Other spices can be added to taste (e.g. more cumin and paprika).

For the pasta:

3. Cook according to directions on the package.  Don't leave it al dente if you don't want your finished product that way - this mac doesn't get baked.

Finishing Up:

4. Stir the pasta into the sauce.  Toast the panko over medium heat for 2 minutes, until starting to brown.  

5. Serve the pasta into bowls and top with panko.

Delectable!