This is a rather unconventional method but it does work, and the resulting dish is perfect comfort food for a cold day. The za’atar pesto is a good addition to cut through the richness and the feta provides creamy nuggets. A crazy but good idea from the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen.
Wine Suggestion: A crisp white with body and texture is called for here to help cut through rich layers and stand up to the complex flavours. Domaine Ventenac’s Cassandre waas our choice and a very happy match indeed. Vermentino from Cabardes in the south of France, this comes from vineyards that have cooling breezes and a little altitude to give it depth of flavour as well as a scintillating freshness; finishing with a slight nutty twist that gave the pesto an extra lift.
Middle Eastern mac n cheese with za’atar pesto – serves 4 to 6
- 300g dried cavatappi or fusilli pasta
- 600-700ml whole milk
- 65g unsalted butter, cut into 3cm cubes
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- ⅛ tsp ground turmeric
- 1½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and roughly crushed
- 75ml double cream
- 150g mature cheddar, roughly grated
- 180g Greek feta, roughly crumbled
- 45g shop-bought crispy onions or shallots
FOR THE ZA’ATAR PESTO
- 1 large lemon
- 3 tbsp za’atar
- 20g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
- 40g pine nuts, lightly toasted
- 6 tbsp olive oil
Put the pasta, 600ml of milk, 350ml of water, the butter, garlic, turmeric, 1 tsp of salt and plenty of black pepper into a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down the heat and cook, stirring now and then, for 8-14 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente and the sauce thickened. You can add the extra 100ml of milk if you need it thinned a bit.
Turn the heat to low and stir in the cumin, cream and cheeses. Stir until the cheddar has melted.
Meanwhile, make the pesto. Finely grate the lemon to get 1½ tsp of zest. Peel the lemon, cut into segments and roughly chop. Put the lemon and zest into a bowl.
Put the za’atar, coriander, garlic, pine nuts, a pinch of salt, plenty of black pepper and 3 tbsp of the oil into a food processor, then pulse a few times to get a coarse paste. Add to the lemon and stir in the remaining 3 tbsp of oil.
Transfer the cheesey pasta to a large serving platter, dot all over with the pesto and top with the crispy onions.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Shelf Love by Noor Murad & Yotam Ottolenghi, Ebury Press, 2021.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 