Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli Spigarello

Macaroni and cheese again, but this time I threw in some broccoli spigarello, which I bought at the local farmer's market because it looked interesting. I've never had this green, but I was intrigued since the sign said it was "great with pasta". I actually really like it--it tastes like the best parts of broccoli or brocoli rabe, is sort of kale-like, but its sweet and not bitter, and it seems to hold up well to being cooked. The latimes says it's actually heirloom broccoli rabe which is relatively difficult to find.

To make this dish, I followed the recipe here, except before cooking the sauce or the pasta, I cut the stems off the greens (because they are fibrous) and then blanched the broccoli spigarello for 5-6 minutes, and then rinsed it with cold water to set the color. I then made the sauce, while the pasta was cooking in the same water that I had blanched the greens. I finished the sauce before the pasta had finished cooking, and in the very last 30 seconds of cooking the pasta, I threw the greens in the boiling water to reheat them, drained the pasta and greens, and mixed everything into the pasta. The other change that I made is that I increased the ratio of sauce to pasta, and decreased the amount of cheese. The greens are tasty and go well with the sauce.