If you had asked 8-year-old me if I wanted turnips for dinner, something like “eww, no” or  “grossssss” would have been the answer. Sadly, the same question posed to “adult” me would probably get the same response. But if the turnips were tucked into macaroni and cheese? Well, that’s a much more interesting proposition.  I imagine there are plenty of parents that are looking for clever ways to slip a few extra veggies into their kids’ (or their own) diet, so check out this recipe from Andrea Chesman’s Recipes From The Root Cellar…you won’t be hearing words of protest when this dish hits the table.

Cheesy Mac With Root Vegetables

In this dish, any of the root vegetables you happen to have in the house will work well, though turnips and rutabagas are favorites. If you have a pasta pot with a colander insert, you can easily cook the vegetables in the same boiling water as the macaroni.

Serves: 6

1 pound elbow macaroni
4 cups peeled and diced mixed root vegetables (carrots, celery root, golden beets, parsnips, rutabagas, salisfy, and/or turnips) or winter squashes
6 tablespoons butter
1 shallot minced
2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
6 tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour
3 cups milk
2 cups lightly packed grated sharp cheddar (8 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup dried breadcrumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly butter a large casserole dish.

2. Bring two large pots of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni to one pot and cook until al dente. Drain well. Transfer to the casserole dish.

3. In the second pot of boiling water, cook the vegetables until fork-tender, about 10 minutes; the vegetables should still hold their shape. Drain well. Transfer to the casserole dish.

4. To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic, if using, and sauté until limp, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour to form a smooth paste. Stir in the milk and bring to a boil, stirring to prevent lumps. When the sauce thickens, add the cheese, stirring until melted. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.

5. Stir the sauce into the macaroni and vegetables. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top.

6. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the breadcrumbs are browned. Serve hot.

Kitchen Notes: You can vary the vegetables as you please. A sliced leek or one-quarter of a yellow onion can replace the shallot. If you only have carrots on hand, you can simply grate a couple of them and add to the cheese sauce with the milk. Or you can add 2 cups shredded root vegetables (any type) to the cheese sauce and add 2 cups frozen vegetables (any type) to the pasta, 1 to 3 minutes before the pasta will be done.

I’m from a cooking school of thought very closely aligned with that of Rachel Flax (Winona Ryder’s mother in the movie, Mermaids, memorably played by Cher) who believed in making hors d’oeuvres and only hors d’oeuvres.

If left to my own devices, every meal would be a string of snacks and finger food. But when I hear my cooking-centric friends rhapsodize over the amazing meals they concoct with ingredients I’ve never heard of, I wonder if I’m missing out.  So having only made a few basic dishes before (rice and beans), or been relegated to the “peeler and chopper” when assisting in the kitchen, I thought I’d try my hand at the Chicken Potpie recipe from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home cookbook. The cookbook’s recipes are described as “doable at home,” so that seemed like a step in the right direction.

Right off the bat I was relieved to note I had definitely heard of all the ingredients needed for the potpie, and as a bonus, I already possessed a few (milk, butter and carrots!). And those I didn’t have in my kitchen wouldn’t go to waste if there were leftovers (pearl onions and bay leaves).  After reading the recipe, it seemed pretty straightforward, even to my untrained eye. The only step I was really sweating was making the pie crust, which has always seemed particularly scary – Don’t overwork the dough! Make sure everything stays cold! It can’t be too dry! Or sticky!  I always thought it was a task best left to the professionals.  So after rereading the recipe about 6 times, I jumped in, and turns out, no, it isn’t that scary. The one oversight on my part was forgetting that I don’t actually own a rolling pin, which I imagine would be immensely helpful when trying to roll out dough. Turns out a wine bottle can pinch-hit if needed.

Once I had the dough situation under control, the rest was smooth-sailing, I chopped and simmered the vegetables, cooked up some béchamel sauce (perhaps whisking a little too obsessively, but there were no lumps!) and finally assembled the pie and popped it in the oven.  The result?  A dish I couldn’t believe I had created, and the first dish I felt the need to photograph – partly because I was so proud and partly because I knew no one would believe it came from my oven.  But most importantly, it was delicious.  Flaky crust? Check. Creamy, savory filling? Check.  Tender vegetables? Absolutely.

And now with my cooking confidence vastly improved, I’m already eyeing the Catalan beef stew recipe in the next chapter and thinking that it looks “doable at home.”
Click here for the recipe