Israeli couscous Mac and cheese
Ingredients:
1 small 3 pack of cured chorizo sausage (the little red packs hanging up on racks in the store)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups (12 ounces) Israeli couscous
3 tablespoons butter -- plus extra for greasing pan
3 tablespoons flour
4 cups whole milk
1 medium onion quartered
1 garlic clove crushed
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
3 1/2 cups total grated cheese 1/2 sharp Cheddar 1/2 Manchego cheese divided
freshly ground black pepper
Salt
1/4 cup Dry sherry (Gallo cocktail sherry or sherry works, but not cream sherry, it is too sweet)
Recipe Instructions:
- Put the milk in medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in onion, bay leaf, clove, garlic, paprika and nutmeg. Simmer low, stirring often, 40 minutes. Strain into a bowl, push on the solids with a wooden spoon to get as much of the liquid out as you can, reserve milk, discard solids. In the same saucepan (no need to clean it) melt 3 tablespoons of butter and the flour, whisk for 5 minutes low, should bubble but not darken.(Blond roux). Whisk in the reserved milk and simmer on low for 30 minutes, should be thick as cream and very smooth.
-While sauce is simmering. Remove the skin from the chorizo and chop up, place in a small skillet on low to medium/low heat, add olive oil, cook until crisp, reserve the oil and snack on the sausage while you cook or put out as a topping for the mac and cheese in a separate bowl.
-While that is simmering. Bring 8 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to rolling boil in medium saucepan. Add Israeli couscous and cook until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and put in large bowl.
- Remove sauce from heat and stir in 2 cups cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add sherry. Stir in Israeli couscous. Pour mixture into buttered, deep 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Drizzle the chorizo oil over the dish and using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke several holes in the top to force oil below the surface. Bake at 350F about 35 to 45 minutes until bubbly at the edges and slightly brown on top. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
