Spinach mac ‘n’ cheese

Your favourite comfort food revamped with fewer calories and more veggies. This vegetarian mac 'n' cheese with spinach and tomatoes is an easy meal for two

  • Prep:10 mins
    Cook:25 mins
  • Serves 2
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 482
  • fat 17g
  • saturates 7g
  • carbs 53g
  • sugars 11g
  • fibre 10g
  • protein 23g
  • salt 0.6g

Ingredients

  • 85g wholewheat penne
  • ½ tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 2 leeks, washed and sliced
  • 50g spelt flour
  • 2 tsp English mustard powder
  • 200ml semi-skimmed milk
  • 80g baby spinach
  • 50g extra mature cheddar, finely grated
  • 2 tomatoes, quartered if large

Method

  1. Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium non-stick pan. Add the leeks, stir well, then cover and cook for about 6 mins or until softened.

  2. Put the flour and mustard powder in a small bowl and gradually whisk in the milk. Pour into the pan with the leeks and stir with a wooden spoon until thickened. Continue stirring over a low heat while the pasta cooks. It will seem thick but will be diluted later.

  3. Drain the pasta, reserving the cooking water, then stir the paste into the sauce. Add the spinach and 1-11/2 ladlefuls of the water to make a spoonable sauce, then stir over the heat until the spinach has wilted. Stir in most of the cheese and taste for seasoning.

  4. Heat the grill. Tip the pasta mixture into a casserole dish, arrange the tomatoes over the top and scatter over the remaining cheese. Grill for 5-10 mins or until bubbling and golden.

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