Wisteria Restaurant, Atlanta: https://deepsouthmag.com/2011/12/29/wisterias-braised-greens-mac-and-cheese/ This is an adaptation of a recipe that melds two Southern food classics and borrows slightly from Italy and Japan,
to delicious effect.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried elbow macaroni
- Kosher salt
- 2 pounds collard, mustard or turnip greens, cut into ribbons
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, additional for the baking dish
- 3/4 teaspoons. finely chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups heavy cream or milk
- 2 teaspoons. finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons. finely chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 pound grated New York sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
Directions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2 1/2-quart, deep casserole dish and set aside.
- Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a boil, add 1 teaspoon salt and the macaroni, reduce heat to a low boil and cook al dente (until it offers a slight resistance when bitten into), about 9 minutes. Empty the macaroni into a colander to drain.
- Heat a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and garlic and heat until butter is melted and garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add greens and cook and gently stir until wilted, about 4-8 minutes. Add cooked greens to the macaroni in the colander and drain.
- Make bechamel: Heat 4 tablespoons butter with flour over medium heat and stir for 3 minutes. Gradually add the cream and stir until thickened. Remove from heat.
- Stir the parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, cayenne, salt and pepper into the bechamel. Fold in grated cheese.
- In large bowl, stir together the collards, macaroni, and bechamel-cheese mixture. Scrape into prepared casserole dish. Top with the panko; dot top with remaining butter.
- Bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 45 minutes.