Baked Mac & Cheese with Sage,
Swiss Chard, and Walnuts

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in large pot or saute pan over medium heat. Add onion; saute until translucent, approx 8 minutes. Stir in garlic, then flour and stir vigorously and consistently for 1 minute.

Gradually add milk and whisk occasionally until mix begins to boil, roughly 5 minutes. Add in both cups of gouda and 1 cup gruyere. Stir until cheeses melt, about 2-3 minutes. Once melted, add in the ground walnuts, paprika, nutmeg, and sage. Stir until combined adding salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a baking dish (ideally 13 x 9 x 2) with butter.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, add chard and cook for about 1 minute. While keeping the water in the pot, remove chard and strain in a colander. Rinse with cold water to stop the chard from further cooking and then transfer to a plate or cutting board to cool. Squeeze water from chard and chop finely.

Place the pot with water over medium high heat and return to boil. Add macaroni pasta of choice and cook until tender but still firm to bite. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking.

Strain the macaroni and stir into the warm cheese sauce. Once macaroni is thoroughly covered, add half of macaroni to the prepared dish and layer the top with 1/2 cup of gruyere and all of the chard. Top with remaining macaroni mixture and cover evenly.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add to the breadcrumbs in medium bowl. Stir with a pinch of salt and pepper. Layer the top of the macaroni with the remaining gruyere and then the breadcrumb mix.

Place in the over for approximately 40 minutes or until the breadcrumbs brown and the cheese is bubbling. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.