Mac and cheese with red pepper coulis, chicken breasts and sweet italian sausage
Iraj Fernando, executive chef/manager for Southern Foodservice Management Inc., created this dish as a play on a traditional comfort food. Fernando says that, as a chef, he becomes a storyteller. “I want everyone to come to the café and be able to recognize something from their past,” he says. “This is one of those dishes. It’s a family-style recipe with rustic and bold flavors.” Fernando says the dish’s classic white sauce is accentuated with flavors from his home country, Sri Lanka.
Ingredients
Chicken breasts and sausage
2 whole red peppers
5 5-oz. skinless chicken breasts, pounded
Salt and ground pepper to taste
½ cup flour
2 to 4 tbsp. olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 oz. tasso
2 zucchini, cut into matchsticks
1 lb. sweet to mild Italian sausages
2 tbsp. butter and herb Boursin cheese
Dash harissa or Sriracha (optional)
¼ cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
Mac and cheese
2 whole red peppers
16 oz. macaroni
2 oz. butter
I tbsp. chopped shallots
2 oz. flour
1 qt. milk, hot
1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning (can substitute with Old Bay)
12 oz. diced tomatoes and green peppers
1 tbsp. granulated garlic
Large pinch saffron threads
½ lb. cheddar cheese
¼ lb. shredded pepper jack
4 oz. buttered breadcrumbs
½ tbsp. Montreal steak seasoning
Pinch nutmeg
Deep-fried parsley, chopped, for garnish
Steps
1. Set red peppers on low flame range. Remove blackened skins, core peppers and chop. (You will do this for both chicken and mac and cheese recipe)
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge lightly in flour. Set aside.
3. In skillet, over medium heat, add olive oil, garlic, tasso, zucchini and red peppers. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add sausage. When cooked, remove sausages.
5. Add buttered cheese and harissa or Sriracha, and cook on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until edges are light brown. Add wine and bring to a boil. Stir, then reduce for 2 to 4 minutes.
6. Add chicken broth, and simmer, partially covered, for 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Slice sausages and add to skillet. Carefully toss with chicken.
8. Cook macaroni; drain and set in baking pan.
9. Stir butter, shallots, flour, milk and Cajun seasoning together. Set aside.
10. Add rest of ingredients, except breadcrumbs, nutmeg and parsley, to macaroni pan. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top. Bake, covered, at 325°F for 15 minutes.
11. Uncover and sprinkle with steak seasoning, nutmeg and parsley. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes.
Recipe by Bosch LLC (Broadview, Ill.)