Gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese (with a secret ingredient)

This recipe has been adapted from the cookbook, Spilling the Beans:  cooking and baking with beans and grains every day by Julie Van Rosendaal and Sue Duncan.  Beans are packed with nutrition and I have been surprised at how easy it is to incorporate a few beans into regular recipes.  This recipe uses white kidney beans, which are fairly innocuous as their flavour is mild and the texture is soft.  The great thing about white kidney beans is that they can be pureed and added to recipes without anyone knowing.  For this recipe, you can puree the beans and add it to the cheese sauce.  I did this and served it to three children: Two out of three children loved the macaroni and cheese.  You can also simply add the beans to the macaroni cheese, which I did last night to rave reviews from my family. 

 Ingredients

1/2 lb. (250 g) dry brown rice pasta (macaroni, rotini, small shells, or other - I found this neat rice pasta that comes in all sorts of neat shapes - see photo below)

3 Tb. butter

3 Tb. rice flour or gluten free flour mix

2 1/2 cups (625 ml) milk

3 cups (750 ml) shredded old white cheddar, Gouda, Monterey jack, Parmesan, or other meltable cheese)

1 cup (250 ml) rinsed and drained canned white beans (half a 19 oz./540 ml can)

 salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1 cup (250 ml) cottage cheese

 Just look at all of those fun shapes!

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it's tender but not mushy.  Follow the directions on the package.  My pasta took about 10 minutes.  You will not want to over cook the pasta as it will be baking in the oven too and I have found that it is easier to overcook rice pasta (despite the fact that it takes longer to cook).  Set aside.

 In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or so, until the mixture turns golden.  Stir in the milk and bring the sauce to a full boil, whisking constantly.  Reduce the heat to simmer for a few minutes, until the mixture has thickened.

 I find that using the gluten-free flour means the sauce does not thicken to the same degree as regular flour, but it does thicken and it works

Add 1 tsp. dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste.
If you opted to puree the beans, you can add them directly to the cheese sauce at this point.  Personally, I like to puree the beans in a food processor as opposed to a blender or magic bullet as the food processor does a better job.  If you are finding the beans to dry, you could add a little liquid - in this case either milk or water.  If you are pureeing, you want the beans to be smooth without any chunks.

 In a large bowl (or pot), combine the pasta, cheese sauce, beans, and cottage cheese and pour into a greased 9 by 13 pan.  At this point, you can let it cool, refrigerate and use later or you can pop it into a 350 degree oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the dish is bubbly around the edges and the topping is golden.

 I left mine to cool, put it in the oven and then baked it for supper.  It was delicious!

There you have it, a comfort food you can feel good about!