TravelTalkOnline Forums People Talk Recipes Spinach and Artichoke Mac & Cheese

This is a Rachel Ray recipe. It's definitely not my normal healthy recipe, but I love artichokes and this one caught my eye. It's kind of like spinach and artichoke dip made into a main dish. Frankly, I think the serving size is huge...if this makes four servings, then it's four linebackers. But it is quite tasty! I have adjusted it for the slight modifications I made.

Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese
Ingredients

* Salt
* 1 pound semolina or whole wheat penne
* 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 2 cups milk
* Freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/4 teaspoon or to taste

* 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
* 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped artichokes, defrosted
* Salt and Black pepper to taste
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian Fontina cheese
* 1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Yields: 4 servings
Preparation

Preheat oven to 375

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.

While the pasta water comes to a boil, place a medium pot over medium-low heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons, and the butter. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook the veggies until very soft, about 10 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and sprinkle the flour into the pan. Cook for about 1 minute then whisk the wine into the pan, cooking for another minute to burn off the alcohol. Whisk the milk into the pan and bring up to a bubble. Add the nutmeg, spinach, artichokes, salt and pepper to the sauce and simmer until thickened and vegetables are warmed through, 2-3 minutes more. Add 1 cup of each of the cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted.

Toss the prepared sauce with the cooked pasta and transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining Fontina and Parmigiano over the top and bake until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Georgia, This sounds delicious but wouldn't you use 1 and a half cups of wine? 1/2 for the casserole and one to drink? I would. J

Ha! I was drinking red while I cooked!! And more than a cup...

macaroni & cheese is one of the best foods ever created. thanks for sharing the recipe. 4 servings sounds about right for 1 lb of pasta and i am by no means a linebacker. georgia, rachael ray has a unique spelling of her name... thought you'd be interested in knowing this. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Thanks....I hate to misspell, as you know!<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Blush.gif" alt="" />

I guess we're just lightweights in the portion size category..we just ate leftovers for lunch, and only half of the casserole is gone. So for us it will make at least eight servings. I used whole wheat penne, and I find that more filling than the semolina.