Greek Mac and Cheese

By cprzybyl

Ingredients

• 3 slices crustless white bread, torn into small pieces
• 9 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 8 oz. hollow pasta, preferably elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 4 cups grated graviera or kefalotyri cheese (about 12 oz.)
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 large shallots, finely chopped
• 16 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 8 scallions cut into 1/4"-thick rounds
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh dill
• 1 3/4 cups crumbled feta (about 8 oz.)

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from saveur.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Put bread into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Put bread crumbs and 3 tbsp. butter into a small bowl and combine; set aside. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until cooked halfway through, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta, rinse with cold water, and set aside.


2. Heat remaining butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Still whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in milk and cook until sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 1015 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Stir in graviera, cinnamon, and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper; set bamel sauce aside.


3. Heat oven to 350. Heat oil in a 5-qt. pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until soft, 34 minutes. Add spinach and scallions and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved bamel sauce, the dill, and the reserved pasta and transfer mixture to a 9" x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bread crumbs and the feta. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.