Jalapeño & Kielbasa Mac & Cheese with a Brown Butter Crumb


Date Published: Dec 10th, 2024 | Last Updated: Dec 10th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

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Hello! I can’t believe it’s been nearly 5 months since my last published recipe. Where did 2024 go? We’ve been busy working, travelling, and cooking as usual, but I’ve stepped up my travel blogging lately (coming soon) and have unfortunately put recipes on the back burner to catch up. But not worry, and I have a looooong list of half-written recipes waiting to be polished and will be coming back in full swing.

This recipe came out of a failed attempt at making a brown butter mac and cheese. I could never get the brown butter flavour to shine, so I decided to put it in a crumb topping instead. Although the brown butter is still only subtle, the end result was worth a recipe on its own. I actually made so much test mac and cheese that weekend that I brought some to work and ended up being a hit. After repeated requests for this recipe (here’s looking at you, Jasmin 😉), this recipe jumped the queue and here we are!

This hearty and by no means healthy mac and cheese is indulgent, perfect for this cold weather. The smokiness of the kielbasa paired with the subtle spicy pickled jalapeños covered in a béchamel cheese sauce makes this the perfect comfort food. The addition of the brown butter crumb is optional, but it adds an extra layer of toasty flavour and texture.

What is kielbasa?

Kielbasa is a smoked Polish sausage that’s packed full of flavour. They’re sold in the sausage section and usually comes in a ‘U’ shape (or cut in halves) and vaccuum-sealed. Most commercially available kielbasa is sold already cooked and ready to eat, but double check the package just in case. This is my all-time favourite sausage. You can eat it on its own as a snack, serve it as part of a charcuterie board, throw it in a soup such as my kielbasa chili, or mix it into any dish for that added smokey flavour.

This is my go-to brand from Whole Foods

Do not use pre-grated cheese for this recipe!

I get it, grating cheese is tedious and can be messy, but you absolutely must grate your own cheese for this recipe. The pre-grated bags of cheese have an anti-caking agent mixed in to prevent sticking and to increase the shelf life. As a result, this added agent will cause your cheese to not melt properly and you’ll get a gritty/grainy/clumpy texture in what should be a luxurious smooth cream sauce. If you have a food processor, use the grating function or just pulse small blocks of cheese until it turns into small pieces to make your life easier.

Can I use fresh jalapeños instead of the jarred/pickled ones?

I prefer the pickled jalapeños for this recipe because not only does it have the flavour, but the tartness from the pickled jalapeños is a nice contrast to break up the heavy flavours of the cheese sauce and sausage. If you want to use fresh jalapeños, I’d cook it down a little first with the melted butter in the first step of the cheese sauce and when it softens, continue the rest of the recipe. You may want to add a splash of Worcestershire at the end to brighten up the dish.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

*Note: this makes a BIG pot of mac & cheese, enough for 6 portions. Halve the recipe if needed!*

  • Brown Butter Crumb Topping:
    • 3 Tbsps (40g) unsalted butter
    • 1 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
    • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 box (1lb/16oz/454g) of elbow pasta/macaroni
  • Béchamel Cheese Sauce:
    • 3 Tbsps (40g) unsalted butter
    • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
    • 3.5 cups whole milk
    • 3 cups sharp cheddar, grated (do not get the pre-grated cheese)
    • 2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated (do not get the pre-grated cheese)
  • 1 whole (340g /12oz) kielbasa (Polish sausage), diced
  • 70g jarred/pickled jalapeños, drained and diced (the exact amount is not important, 70g is for a mild heat – add as much or as little to your liking)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Make the brown butter crumb topping:

In a large deep pan on LOW-MED heat, melt 3 Tbsps of butter until it lightly browns, then add in 1 cup of Panko and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix together and cook until the Panko is toasted with a golden brown colour (~3-5 mins). Turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl until ready to use. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel to get rid of any residual Panko.

Make the béchamel cheese sauce:

In the same pan that was used for the Panko, melt another 3 Tbsps of butter on MED heat until lightly browned. Once melted, sprinkle in 1/3 cup of flour. Whisk for 2 minutes until the flour is incorporated, bubbles, and turns a light golden brown. Don’t worry if it gets a little clumpy at this stage.

Slowly add in the 3.5 cups of milk while whisking at the same time to ensure the flour and milk mixes well together and any clumps dissolve.

Let the sauce heat up and as it comes to a simmer, add in the 3 cups of shredded sharp cheddar and 2 cups of shredded Parmesan cheese. Mix until the cheese has melted and you have a smooth creamy sauce. Turn off the heat. Mix in the diced kielbasa and diced jalapeños.

Cook the pasta:

Cook the pasta according to package instructions with a pinch of salt in the water. Strain the pasta but reserve a cup of the pasta water in case needed later.

Putting it all together:

If your cheese sauce has gone a little cold while you were waiting for the pasta to cook, turn the heat back on to warm it up then pour the strained pasta directly into the cheese sauce and mix thoroughly. If it’s a little thick, add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up.

Taste and adjust salt, pepper, or more jalapeños to your liking. Sprinkle the brown butter crumb (from step 1) over the top before serving. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Jalapeño & Kielbasa Mac & Cheese with a Brown Butter Crumb

Date Published: Dec 10th, 2024 | Last Updated: Dec 10th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains
Serves: 6-8 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

*Note: this makes a BIG pot of mac & cheese, enough for 6 portions. Halve the recipe if needed!*

  • Brown Butter Crumb Topping:
    • 3 Tbsps (40g) unsalted butter
    • 1 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
    • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 box (1lb/16oz/454g) of elbow pasta/macaroni
  • Béchamel Cheese Sauce:
    • 3 Tbsps (40g) unsalted butter
    • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
    • 3.5 cups whole milk
    • 3 cups sharp cheddar, grated (do not get the pre-grated cheese)
    • 2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated (do not get the pre-grated cheese)
  • 1 whole (340g /12oz) kielbasa (Polish sausage), diced
  • 70g jarred/pickled jalapeños, diced (the exact amount is not important, 70g is for a mild heat – add as much or as little to your liking)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Make the brown butter crumb topping:
    • In a large deep pan on LOW-MED heat, melt 3 Tbsps of butter until it lightly browns, then add in 1 cup of Panko and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix together and cook until the Panko is toasted with a golden brown colour (~3-5 mins). Turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl until ready to use. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel to get rid of any residual Panko.
  2. Make the béchamel cheese sauce:
    • In the same pan that was used for the Panko, melt another 3 Tbsps of butter on MED heat until lightly browned. Once melted, sprinkle in 1/3 cup of flour. Whisk for 2 minutes until the flour is incorporated, bubbles, and turns a light golden brown. Don’t worry if it gets a little clumpy at this stage.
    • Slowly add in the 3.5 cups of milk while whisking at the same time to ensure the flour and milk mixes well together and any clumps dissolve.
    • Let the sauce heat up and as it comes to a simmer, add in the 3 cups of shredded sharp cheddar and 2 cups of shredded Parmesan cheese. Mix until the cheese has melted and you have a smooth creamy sauce. Turn off the heat. Mix in the diced kielbasa and diced jalapeños.
  3. Cook the pasta:
    • Cook the pasta according to package instructions with a pinch of salt in the water. Strain the pasta but reserve a cup of the pasta water in case needed later.
  4. Putting it all together:
    • If your cheese sauce has gone a little cold while you were waiting for the pasta to cook, turn the heat back on to warm it up then pour the strained pasta directly into the cheese sauce and mix thoroughly. If it’s a little thick, add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up.
    • Taste and adjust salt, pepper, or more jalapeños to your liking. Sprinkle the brown butter crumb (from step 1) over the top before serving. Enjoy!

AbbyLeave a comment

Sausage Mushroom Zucchini Tian (kinda like a risotto but easier)


Date Published: Feb 28th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 28th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: easy, healthy, low-cal, mains, vegetarian
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 40 mins

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‘Tian de Courgettes au Riz’ is a recipe from the great Julia Child. I came across this recipe randomly through my search for healthier meals in this new year and found many adaptations of it. From those adaptations, I played around with the recipe, added in mushrooms and sausage (because why not) to make it a more rounded and hearty meal, and out came yet another adaptation of her recipe 😛. According to the internet, a “tian” is a French word used to describe a shallow baking dish but also the name of a baked vegetable dish (Martha Stewart compares the wordplay to a casserole and a casserole dish).

In its essence, this dish is pretty much rice cooked in zucchini liquid mixed with mushroom, meat, and cheese. It’s kind of like a risotto, except much easier to achieve. This recipe seems long, but I promise it’s just wordy and not difficult at all. Once you get into it, you’ll realize that it’s quite easy and not at all intimidating unlike other Julia Child recipes.

This recipe is a fantastic way to use up an overflow of zucchinis in the summer season. For 6 portions, it uses up about 6 large zucchinis. I wish I discovered this recipe sooner when Toby and I were staying on the farm. His dad grew sooooo many zucchinis that we were gifting them to everyone we see (he was seriously harvesting at least 6-8 a day at peak season!).

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

*You will need an oven-proof pot or dutch oven with a lid – I used a 5 1/4 quart dutch oven.

  • 1.5kg zucchinis (roughly 6 large ones)
  • 500g portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
  • Roughly 1/2 a cup of milk (amount will vary depending on how much liquid is released from your zucchini and mushrooms)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 medium brown onions, diced
  • 3 Tbsps all purpose flour
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated + extra for sprinkling
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 3/4 cup medium grain rice (I use arborio/risotto rice, but any medium grain will do)
  • 300-400g kielbasa (Polish sausage), diced
    • You can use any protein you like (ie. sausage, ground beef, shredded rotisserie chicken…etc.), but make sure your protein is cooked, dry, and doesn’t add any extra liquid or else it’ll throw off the liquid ratio to cook the rice.

Directions:

Cut the fibrous ends off the zucchinis and grate each one using a large hole grater (this is a whole lot quicker if you have a food processor with a grating function). Place a colander over a bowl and put the grated zucchini into the colander with 3 tsps of salt. Use your hands and massage the salt through the zucchini, making sure its mixed well. Set aside for 1 hour, allowing the liquid from the zucchini to release and collect in the bowl below.

After 1 hour, squeeze out as much zucchini liquid as you can and save this liquid. Rinse the grated zucchini under cold water to remove any excess salt and squeeze until dry and set aside (do not save this liquid).

While you’re waiting for the zucchini to release its liquid, cook the mushrooms: in a large pan on MED-HIGH heat, add a drizzle of oil and sauté the mushrooms until cooked (4-5 minutes). Place the cooked mushrooms in a strainer and reserve any liquid.

Reserved zucchini liquid
Adding in mushroom liquid
Adding milk to make it 3.75 cups

Measure out the amount of collected zucchini liquid from step 2 and add in the released liquid from the mushrooms in step 3 until it makes 3.75 cups. If the combined liquid is not enough to make up 3.75 cups, then add enough milk to make up the rest of the amount. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and heat it up on the stove until warmed. Do NOT let it come to a boil, otherwise it may split. Only heat it up until warmed. Keep on LOW heat until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F.

In an oven-safe pot or dutch oven (make sure there’s a lid, I used a 5 1/4 quart size dutch oven) on MED-HIGH heat, add a drizzle of oil and sauté the garlic and onion together for 3-4 minutes until the onion turns translucent. Then add in the grated zucchini and continue to sauté for another 5-6 minutes.

Add in the cooked mushrooms and 3 Tbsps of flour to the pan and continue mixing for 2 more minutes until everything is well combined then turn off the heat.

Add Parmesan, rice, and kielbasa
Mix it all up

Mix in the Parmesan cheese, rice, and kielbasa (or your choice of cooked protein).

Bake covered for 20 minutes
After baking covered for 20 mins

Pour in the warmed zucchini/mushroom/milk liquid over top. Mix it all together then cover with the lid and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Add Parmesan and bake uncovered for another 20-25 mins
Once the liquid cooks out and it’s golden brown on top, it’s done!

After 20 minutes, remove the lid and add a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese over top and continue baking without the lid for another 20-25 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the top is slightly golden brown. Once it’s done, take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes for any remaining liquid to absorb before serving. When dishing it out, add another sprinkle of Parmesan cheese before serving. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Sausage Mushroom Zucchini Tian (kinda like a risotto but easier)

Date Published: Feb 28th, 2024 | Last Updated: Feb 28th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: easy, healthy, low-cal, mains, vegetarian
Serves: 4-6 | Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

*You will need an oven-proof pot or dutch oven with a lid – I used a 5 1/4 quart dutch oven.

  • 1.5kg zucchinis (roughly 6 large ones)
  • 500g portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
  • Roughly 1/2 a cup of milk (amount will vary depending on how much liquid is released from your zucchini and mushrooms)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 medium brown onions, diced
  • 3 Tbsps all purpose flour
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated + extra for sprinkling
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 3/4 cup medium grain rice (I use arborio/risotto rice, but any medium grain will do)
  • 300-400g kielbasa (Polish sausage), diced
    • You can use any protein you like (ie. sausage, ground beef, shredded rotisserie chicken…etc.), but make sure your protein is cooked, dry, and doesn’t add any extra liquid or else it’ll throw off the liquid ratio to cook the rice.

Directions:

  1. Prepare the zucchini: Cut the fibrous ends off the zucchinis and grate each one using a large hole grater (this is a whole lot quicker if you have a food processor with a grating function). Place a colander over a bowl and put the grated zucchini into the colander with 3 tsps of salt. Use your hands and massage the salt through the zucchini, making sure its mixed well. Set aside for 1 hour, allowing the liquid from the zucchini to release and collect in the bowl below. After 1 hour, squeeze out as much zucchini liquid as you can and save this liquid. Rinse the grated zucchini under cold water to remove any excess salt and squeeze until dry and set aside (do not save this liquid).
  2. Cook the mushrooms: While you’re waiting for the zucchini to release its liquid, cook the mushrooms: in a large pan on MED-HIGH heat, add a drizzle of oil and sauté the mushrooms until cooked (4-5 minutes). Place the cooked mushrooms in a strainer and reserve any liquid.
  3. Prepare the liquid: Measure out the amount of collected zucchini liquid from step 2 and add in the released liquid from the mushrooms in step 3 until it makes 3.75 cups. If the combined liquid is not enough to make up 3.75 cups, then add enough milk to make up the rest of the amount. Pour the liquid into a saucepan and heat it up on the stove until warmed. Do NOT let it come to a boil, otherwise it may split. Only heat it up until warmed. Keep on LOW heat until ready to use.
  4. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F.
  5. In an oven-safe pot or dutch oven (make sure there’s a lid) on MED-HIGH heat, add a drizzle of oil and sauté the garlic and onion together for 3-4 minutes until the onion turns translucent. Then add in the grated zucchini and continue to sauté for another 5-6 minutes.
  6. Add in the cooked mushrooms and 3 Tbsps of flour to the pan and continue mixing for 2 more minutes until everything is well combined then turn off the heat.
  7. Mix in the Parmesan cheese, rice, and kielbasa (or your choice of cooked protein).
  8. Pour in the warmed zucchini/mushroom/milk liquid over top. Mix it all together then cover with the lid and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
  9. After 20 minutes, remove the lid and add a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese over top and continue baking without the lid for another 20-25 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the top is slightly golden brown. Once it’s done, take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes for any remaining liquid to absorb before serving. When dishing it out, add another sprinkle of Parmesan cheese before serving. Enjoy!

AbbyLeave a comment