Healthy Vegan - Black Garlic Macaroni Cheese Bake

So apparently its World Pasta Day and it is truly by coincidence that today I blog this pasta dish. 

 Black food or dark coloured food continues to dominate my blog in the run up to Halloween and today I have a whopper. I thought surely someone must have made a Black Garlic Macaroni Cheese recipe.  I googled and there was no recipe for black garlic pasta, yeah a little grated like parmesan - but not drowned in black garlic dyed cheese - no doubt, now there will be some more now. 
Here is my Black Garlic Pasta Macaroni Cheese before going into the oven for the final bake.  I promise you it gets much darker on baking; and you will have to take my work for it as I didn't take a picture of it, blame it on the dark evenings.

I adore my husband for allowing me to experiment in the kitchen and eating whatever I present to him.  We have rarely ever thrown a dish in the bin, not always delicious, but always edible.  This was a really rich and quite tasty actually.  The black garlic adds colour, but also balsamic zingy sweetness.  Please do serve it with some salad greens, but you'd do that right with a macaroni cheese to balance the cheese indulgence guilt, or it that just me?!
By the way, for those of you who follow me on twitter will have noticed that I have changed my photo avatar to keep it seasonal, right! But for those of you who do not follow me on twitter - here it is.  It was taken in the city of Cardiff last year, I had wondered whether I'd get to share it and I have.

I am sharing a Black Garlic Macaroni Cheese Bake #CookOnceEatTwice hosted by Searching For Spice.

Other  Black Garlic recipes
Wild Garlic, Black Garlic and White Garlic  Cake
Asparagus and Black Garlic Loaf



Black Garlic Cheese Bake
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
75g butter
1 medium onion - peeled and chopped
75g plain flour

800grams milk
4 - 6 cloves of black garlic or more, depending on how flavourful and dark you want it. Crushed/mashed with a folk 
200g-225g (Mediterranean) cheddar cheese, grated plus extra for topping
Salt and ground pepper1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

 300grams macaroni pasta
Method
Melt butter in a saucepan, add the chopped onions and cook gently until soft.
Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, then gradually add the milk, whisking all the time.
Then whisk in the mashed black garlic and about three-quarters of the cheese and allow to melt into the sauce.  Cook until you have achieved the required thickness.
Stir in the herbs.  
Season to taste and combine well.
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions until al dente. 
Drain, then stir into cheese sauce and gently transfer into an ovenproof dish.
Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
Bake in oven Gas mark 6 for 20 - 30 minutes until golden.  
This dish can be made in advance and reheated. 


For other variations of Macaroni Cheese, please see links below.



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