Queens Eats: Spanish Mac and Cheese

This article was written by Erin Walsh.

One of the great things about living in Queens is the abundance of ethnic food from every corner of the globe.

And not just restaurants, of which there are too many to count, but niche ethnic groceries where you can find ingredients as pedestrian as fresh mozzarella to the more hard-to-find preserved lemons for tagines and cardamom pods for Middle Eastern dishes.

This is certainly a perk for the dedicated home cook and the devoted eater alike.

As I continue my culinary tour through Spain (last week I made gazpacho), this week I decided to make Spanish Mac and Cheese, a recipe that hails from the seminal Cheese Issue of the Food Network magazine that I purchased some months back.

I bought most of the ingredients for this dish at the super-exotic Forest Hills Trader Joe’s, including the manchego, which would have cost me at least twice as much elsewhere and I journeyed to Despana in SoHo for the chorizo.

For those of who haven’t been, Despana, which sells everything from Spanish olive oil and quince paste to cheese, sausages and wines, is a must-see destination for the foodie. The store also sells a tasty assortment of tapas, which I highly recommend.

This version of mac and cheese is a spicy twist on a classic. Serve any extra manchego broiled on baguette slices with fig spread for delicious crostini.

So, tell me, readers, what’s your favorite specialty grocery in Queens?

Spanish Mac and Cheese (Source: Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients

For Alfredo Mac & Cheese

Kosher Salt
8 oz. penne or other short pasta
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups heavy cream (Note: I used Half and Half)
Freshly ground pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

For Spanish Mac & Cheese

1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme
½ cup browned diced dried chorizo
½ cup grated manchego
1 beaten egg
1 sliced tomato or piquillo peppers

Directions

First, make Alfredo Mac abnd Cheese:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve one cup cooking water, then drain the pasta.

2. Meanwhile, rub a large skillet with the smashed garlic clove, then discard the garlic. Add the butter and melt over medium-high heat. Add the cream, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until reduced by about one-third, five minutes. Stir in the Parmesan.

3. Add the pasta and just enough of the reserved cooking water to make a thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with more Parmesan.

To Make Spanish Mac and Cheese:

1. Stir in thyme, browned chorizo, manchego and one beaten egg with the pasta, then add all of the reserved cooking water to make a loose sauce. Add to ceramic baking dish.

2. Top with sliced tomato or piquillo peppers and more manchego. Broil until golden.