Macaroni and Cheese and a Pastrami on Rye Meet in a Kitchen

Bourbon chicken mac and cheese, pulled pork mac and cheese, mac and cheese topped with a crispy potato topping – you name it – I’ve made it. While I was shopping for groceries, I saw a Havarti cheese with caraway seeds and inspiration hit. A Pastrami on Rye Mac and Cheese!

 

I have to say this is one pretty tasty mac and cheese. Here’s how I did it.

• 1 pound of shaped pasta of your choice, cooked 3 minutes short of package instructions, drained and rinsed – set aside
• 1/2 pound of Havarti with caraway if you can find it – if not use Havari and add a 1/2 teaspoon of caraway to the mix) – shredded
• 1/2 pound of cheddar – shredded
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of butter, melted (for later)
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 quart of warmed whole milk
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/2 cup of drained Sauer kraut
• 1 teaspoon of good quality stone ground mustard
• 1/2 pound thick-sliced pastrami
• 1 cup of stale Rye bread – processed into bread crumbs

Instructions

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan melt butter and added flour to make a roux.

Cook it for at least five minutes.

Warm one quart of whole milk in the microwave for three minutes.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, freshly ground pepper to the roux.

Slowly add warmed whole milk to roux while whisking — cook until thickened about 10 minutes.

At this point, add the mustard, sauerkraut.

When sauce is thickened — add almost all the shredded cheeses and combine until cheese has melted.

Add the cheese sauce to the cooked macaroni and transfer to a baking vessel (9 x 13 is what held this mixture). The sauce should look a little excessive – if for some reason your sauce isn’t loose enough or seems like it will be dry — slowly add a little more warmed whole milk or cream.)

Dice the pastrami into small cubes and place into a bowl. Add half the cubes into the macaroni mix. Process the other half of the pastrami into a fine crumb. Add the rye bread crumbs and two teaspoons of melted butter or olive oil and combine.

Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese (reserved from above) and then layer the pastrami and bread crumb mix on top. (I did this two ways – one without the pastrami crumbs in the rye bread and one without.)

Bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 350 (because this is a saucy, creamy recipe — if it looks like the cheese sauce doesn’t cover the pasta wholly – cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes – remove foil and bake for last five remaining minutes).

I hope you try it and like it. We loved it and a friend stopped by and tried some and gave it two thumbs up.

I’d like to give a shout out to Sprouts Market, I shop at Sprouts several times a week, their produce, meat and cheese departments are incredible and their prices cannot be beat. Their customer service is wonderful and the butcher will cut, remove bones, or prep your cuts at your direction and request. Great store with great products.