Mac and cheese can be very boring, especially if it comes out of a box. It’s too easy to make your own from scratch, putting in ingredients that you control – and we bet that you’ll be a big convert to the homemade varieties after you’ve tasted the pumped-up flavors of this poblano mac and cheese recipe. This is quite possibility the best mac and cheese we’ve ever tasted.
Ingredients
- 2 large poblano peppers
- 3 strips of applewood smoked bacon
- 1 medium onion, small diced
- 1 medium ripe tomato, small diced
- 2 cups heavy cream (you can substitute half and half, if you must)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 pound of high quality elbow macaroni – cooked al dente.
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
- 2 chopped green scallions
Directions
- Grill the peppers until the skin blackens. Place the peppers in a sealed container for 10-15 minutes. Peel off the skin, and remove the seeds, then dice the peppers into 1/4 inch pieces.
- Fry off the bacon in a medium sized sauce pan; chop the bacon into small pieces. Remove all the fat except for about 2 tablespoons. Add the onions, and saute until slightly caramelized. Add the tomato, then a sprinkle of salt; saute for about 2 minutes.
- Add the cream, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Add the macaroni and the bacon, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cheese, and stir until melted thoroughly.
- Remove from the heat, and stir in the green scallions. Then it’s time to serve
This recipe works very well with Southwest style food. We recently used this dish along side a Mexican-style marinate pork loin, with rave reviews.
