Swiss Chard Sweet Potato Mac 'n Cheese Recipe

servings: 4 large portions
prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
total time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato (2 heaping cups, peeled & chopped)
• 1 pound fiber-rich pasta (whole-wheat, spelt, brown rice, quinoa, or buckwheat)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 large shallot, minced (or ¼ of an onion)
• 5 sage leaves, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 ½ cups milk, divided
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 bunch of swiss chard, or spinach (about 2 cups, chopped)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ cup parmesan
• ½ cup panko (or whole wheat bread crumbs)
• olive oil spray

Preparation:

Step 1: Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Step 2: While waiting for the water to boil, peel and chop sweet potato into 2-inch cubes.

Step 3: When the water boils cook the sweet potato pieces until soft (approximately 10 minutes).

Step 4: Transfer cooked sweet potato to a bowl and add ¼ cup of milk. Mash with potato masher, or fork, until smooth. Set aside.

Step 5: Bring another pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook for 3 minutes less than package directions so that the pasta is slightly under-cooked. Drain and set aside.

Step 6: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 7: Prepare swiss chard: rinse, remove thick white stems, and chop into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Step 8: In a sauce pan, melt butter. Add crushed garlic, minced shallot, minced sage leaves, and salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, and shallot is transparent (about 5 minutes). Whisk in flour. Add 1 ¼ cups milk, continue whisking until milk thickens, and is clump-free. Add pureed sweet potato. Remove from heat, and add shredded mozzarella cheese and mix until well incorporated.

Step 9: In a large bowl, add pasta, sweet potato-cheese sauce and swiss chard. With a rubber heat-resistant spatula mix together all of the ingredients until pasta is evenly coated with cheese sauce .Pour mixture into a casserole dish, or oven-safe bowls. (I used two large oven safe bowls, each bowl contains 2 servings.)

Step 10: Over the pasta, sprinkle parmesan and panko bread crumbs. Spray a light coat of olive oil spray.

Step 11: Place in oven, and bake for 30 minutes, or until tops are golden and crispy.

Karen Biton-Cohen blogs at K. abc Food & Photography.