Green Tomato Macaroni and Cheese
Cowboy nicknames for their cattle-drive cooks—biscuit shooter, dough puncher, and dough belly—suggest how important sourdough biscuits were to hungry, range-riding wranglers. No self-respecting chuck wagon cook traveled without a dough keg for his prized sourdough starter, the fermented yeast needed to make sourdough biscuits. I covered this macaroni and cheese with a generous blanket of buttered sourdough breadcrumbs in honor of chuck wagon cooks of the past. The rest has little to do with old-time chuck wagon cooking, but I don’t know a modern cowboy or anyone else who would turn down a bubbling pan of freshly baked mac and cheese.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch pan or casserole dish of similar capacity with cooking spray.
Step 2
In a large pot, cook the pasta in plenty of hot water according to package directions, but remove it a few minutes earlier than suggested so it doesn’t turn mushy when baked later. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander and hold under cold running water to stop it from cooking further. Set aside.
Step 3
In a large saucepan set over medium heat, melt 1/2 cup of the butter. Add the flour, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly until thick, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Tabasco, dry mustard, salt, and white pepper. Stir in the cheeses and cook until they are completely melted. Spoon half the cooked pasta into the prepared pan. Cover with half the cheese sauce. Arrange a single layer of sliced tomatoes on top. Spoon the remainder of the pasta on top; pour on the remainder of the cheese sauce. Top with a second layer of sliced tomatoes.
Step 4
In a large skillet set over medium heat, melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter. Stir in the breadcrumbs and cook until the crumbs are evenly coated with butter. Spoon the crumbs evenly over the top of the tomatoes. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crumbs have turned golden and the casserole is bubbling. Serve hot.
do it early
Step 5
The casserole can be assembled a day in advance, covered, and refrigerated. Make the breadcrumbs, too, but don’t add them to the casserole until ready to bake and serve. Bake just before serving. Add extra baking time if the casserole goes from refrigerator to oven.
tip
Step 6
It’s easy to make homemade breadcrumbs: toast 3 or 4 slices of sourdough bread until golden brown. Let the toast cool for a few minutes. Tear the toast into small pieces and process into crumbs in a food processor or blender.
