Macaroni and Vegetables in White Sauce

“I like a cook who smiles out loud when he tastes his own work. Let God worry about your modesty; I want to see your enthusiasm.” 
                                                                                                                                               - Robert Capon

This was the toughest challenge on hand for me recently. It's not because it's difficult to make macaroni with white sauce, it's just that my family can't handle vegetables. And this includes even the cat. I was in mood for some veggies and I loved the idea of having a burst of colourful vegetables on my plate. So I chose red, green and yellow bell peppers, broccoli and cauliflower.

To spice it up a minimum criterion set by my hubby to consume vegetables,I added chilli flakes. I was happy with the result and it definitely qualifies as a treat for  vegetarians who love pastas.But if you can't taste a morsel without a sharp flavour or Indian spices , I suggest you spice your pasta with some Indian spices or leave this recipe out of your mind. It so happens that our taste buds as Indian are so caught up with the garam masala and other spices, it's hard for us to accept some vegetables cooked in milk and cheese and again sometimes these new flavours are to be acquired.We are awaiting the advent  ( 1st to 25th of December) and this is one of those times in the year, when our vegetarian recipes get off our shelves. So I hope to recreate this macaroni with variations. Till then stay healthy my friends.

Ingredients for Macaroni and Vegetables in White Sauce

Macaroni- 500 gm

Broccolli- 150g

Carrot- 100 g

Bell pepper (red)- 1

Bell pepper (yellow)- 1

cauliflower - 100 g

Milk- 150 ml

Butter- 50 g

Cheese grated ( cheddar)- 100g

Salt- to taste

Flour- 2 tbsp

Vodka- 1 ounce

Pepper- a dash

Chilli flakes- 1 tsp

Dried Basil- 1 tsp

Directions

Chop the veggies in long strips. Cut the cauliflower and broccoli into small florets.Boil the macaroni till it's half done, do not over cook your pastas and macaroni as they need to be cooked with the other ingredients at a later stage and over cooking will make them sticky when you cook them later with the other ingredients. Drain the macaroni and pour chilled water to control the stickiness of the macaroni. In a pan heat some butter. Add the flour and fry it but do not let it brown. Pour the milk followed by cheese and now you have your white sauce.I add vodka because I like the flavour but it's optional. Add the vegetables to this sauce and let the vegetables cook for 15 minutes on slow fire. Add some more milk if the sauce looks thin.Add salt, pepper and chilli flakes and stir the vegetables twice. when the vegetables are cooked and by cooked I don't mean they need to melt in the mouth. 

Pastas generally don't overcook vegetables. Overcooking loses the vitamins and cooked vegetables contain lesser vitamins than your raw once so I prefer my veggies half cooked in pasta or macaroni. Also they cook more when taken of fire and covered due to the pressure built inside the pan with the lid on. Add the macaroni to the half done vegetables and let the macaroni cook for 10 minutes on simmer.Sprinkle some dried basil before you take the pasta off the fire. Bon appetit..