How To Elevate Mac and Cheese: Zesty, Dilly, Minty Breadcrumbs

Elevating your meals doesn’t have to be complicated. For a dish that evokes so much safety, comfort, and nostalgia for so many people, the craving for Mac & Cheese can be frustrating to feed when it hits!

Enter: boxed mac and cheese. She is our go-to, our wingwoman if you will, but like the gemini rising I AM, we can always take things up a notch.

With spring peaking in and out of our lives like the person who ghosted you a couple months ago, we need anything that can be as bright as the sun we crave.

This zesty, dilly, minty breadcrumb topping is exactly what turns your boxed Mac and cheese from a quick snack to a meal worth serving your next date.  Along with some fresh seasonal spring produce like asparagus and spring peas that have been sauteed in butter with aromatics and the brightness of the sun (aka lemon).

Add some preserved lemon (because it has us in a chokehold), sumac, our golden breadcrumb mixture, and enjoy the finer (read: simpler) things in life.

Zesty, Dilly, Minty Breadcrumbs

Time: 15 minutes

Yield: about 1 cup of breadcrumbs

INGREDIENTS

Zesty Breadcrumbs:

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs

• 4 tablespoons unsalted plant-based butter

• zest of 2 lemons

• 1/4 cup chopped dill

• 1/4 cup chopped mint

• 1 teaspoon sumac

• salt, to taste

Elevated Mac and Cheese:

• boxed mac and cheese of choice

• 3 tablespoons unsalted plant-based butter

• 1/2 yellow onion, diced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 cup chopped asparagus

• 1 cup fresh peas, cooked (boiled)

• 1 tablespoon preserved lemon paste, substitute with zest and juice of 1 lemon

• 1/2 tablespoon sumac

• salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

To make the breadcrumbs:

1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Melt your butter in the pan and add your breadcrumbs. Toast the breadcrumbs until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Once golden, remove from heat and transfer the golden breadcrumbs to a bowl. Add the mint, dill, sumac, lemon zest, and salt (to taste). Using a spoon, mix everything together until combined.

3. Sprinkle on top of your mac and cheese, fresh roasted veggies, in a salad, or eat by the handful!

4. Dive in!

To make the elevated mac and cheese:

1. Begin by dicing your onion, mincing your garlic, chopping your asparagus, and cooking the peas in boiling water (remove the peas using a slotted spoon and use the same water to cook the mac and cheese to lessen the number of dishes used).

2. Heat the butter in a skillet or cast iron over medium heat. Once melted, add your onion and saute until slightly browned (about 5 to 6 minutes). Add your garlic and saute until fragrant.

3. Add the peas and asparagus to the pan and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or until they’re almost bright green. You want to remove them from the heat immediately to prevent them from being overcooked.

4. Cook your boxed mac and cheese according to the box’s directions. Once assembled, stir in the sauteed asparagus/peas, preserved lemon paste, and sumac.

5. Garnish with breadcrumbs and lemon zest.

6. Dive in!