I love foraging for wild garlic on my local walks and am always looking for new ways to use it. This green and cheesy pasta from Thomasina Miers is also a great way to use up odds and ends of different cheeses- the more variety the better. If you like crisp pancetta or melted anchovies can be added to the sauce. If wild garlic is hard to find then bulb garlic can be used instead and wilted spinach or kale added for colour.
Ingredients
- 500 g macaroni
- 50 g butter plus 20g extra for the crumbs
- 1 large onion peeled and finely diced
- 50 g plain flour
- 900 ml whole milk
- 80 g wild garlic leaves washed and finely shredded
- 100 g gouda or experiment with a mix of a good melting cheese and a blue
- 150 g Lincolnshire Poacher or extra-mature cheddar
- salt and black pepper
- For the breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove peeled and crushed
- 120 g dried breadcrumbs
- 120 g mix cheddar blue cheese, parmesan or anything else you fancy, grated
- 5-6 leaves thyme sprigs picked
- 1-2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1-2 tsp smoked paprika
Servings:
Instructions
- Bring a big pan of salted water to a boil, then cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, then run under cold water for a minute to cool and refresh.
- Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat, add the onion and saute gently for eight to 10 minutes.
- Add the flour, turn down the heat to medium and cook for three to four minutes, until a pale toasty colour. Slowly pour in the milk bit by bit, stirring vigorously between each addition to ensure it has been incorporated, until you have a smooth sauce.
- Add the wild garlic and cheese, stir until the cheese has melted, then taste and season.
- Meanwhile, fry the breadcrumbs. Put a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the olive oil and 20g butter.
- Add the garlic, cook for a minute, then add the crumbs and season. Fry, stirring, for seven to eight minutes, until the crumbs are browned and turning crisp, then take off the heat and stir in the cheese, thyme and paprika.
- Stir three-quarters of the cheese sauce into the macaroni, and pour into a large baking dish. Top with the remaining sauce, scatter the breadcrumbs all over and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Eat at once with a crisp salad.
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