Macaroni and cheese is like Olympic level comfort food. A big bowl of pasta swimming in lots of gooey cheese just heals what ails ya. The right macaroni and cheese can turn a frown upside down and a bad day into a happy one.
Now there are many types of macaroni and cheese, ranging from the $.50 boxes with the orange powder all way to the $95 white truffle mac and cheese at LA’s Mélisse Restaurant. Now I don’t know that I would spend $95 on a bowl of mac, but I do appreciate the use of good quality cheese in this dish. Macaroni and cheese is special to me. Its not something that I eat everyday, so when I do splurge on a big bowl of cheesy goodness, I want it to be really worth the extra burpees I will be doing the following day.
This recipe has a béchamel base, which is a French white sauce made by combining a white roux and milk. Do not let this deter you!! It is so easy and the absolute best way to make a perfect cheese sauce, plus once you make your first successful béchamel, you will be unstoppable in the kitchen! Lets get this bowl of indulgence started…
The pasta I have chosen is cavatappi, which is a tube shaped macaroni with small ridges across the surface. Cavatappi is the Italian word for corkscrew and it is pretty easy to tell why. I chose them because they are a bit thicker than the normal elbows typically used for macaroni and cheese and the ridges and hollow centers really hold a great amount of cheese sauce. If you cannot find cavatappi, you can use penne, rigatoni, ziti or the good old fashion elbows. Any short tube or curly pasta will work for this recipe.
The next element is the absolute most important… the cheese. I am using some mascarpone to make the sauce super smooth and creamy and then a whole bunch of gruyère. Gruyère is fabulous. It has a nutty, salty flavor that is just the tiniest bit sweet and it melts beautifully. Be sure to buy your gruyère in block form and shred it at home. Bagged shredded cheese has an additive to prevent clumping during storage and this can negatively effect the melting process, so even though it is a little time consuming, shred your gruyère the old fashioned way.
In addition to the pasta and cheese, you will need butter, panko breadcrumbs, some grated parmesan and whole milk. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and fill a large pan half way with water and place it over high heat. Once the water begins to boil, add a big fat pinch of salt and the pasta. While the pasta is boiling, we will start our roux.
Place 4 tablespoons of butter into a large deep skillet and place it over medium heat. Once the butter has fully melted, add 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and whisk for 60 seconds. You want all of the butter and flour to be fully incorporated. At this point, it should look like a pale paste. Continue whisking and gradually add 2 1/2 cups of whole milk. Whisking is an important part of a successful roux. It keeps things from browning and it prevents clumps, so whisk away.
Once all of the milk has been added and fully combined, increase the heat to medium high just long enough to bring the sauce up to a simmer. Once it is simmering, lower the heat back to medium and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Whisk every 30 seconds or so and as soon as your béchamel thickens, add 4oz or 1/2 cup of mascarpone and stir it with a silicone spatula until it is fully melted.
Season the sauce with a pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Nutmeg is a classic addition to béchamel sauce and it adds something subtle, yet appetizing and although it is not necessary, I would highly recommend adding it.
Add the gruyére and as soon as it has melted, transfer the skillet onto a heat proof surface such as a wooden cutting board.
To make the breadcrumbs, place 2 tablespoons of butter and 3/4 cup of panko breadcrumbs into a medium skillet and place it over medium heat. It may seem funny to put the dry breadcrumbs over medium heat, but it toasts them a bit and as soon as the butter has melted, remove the skillet from the heat. Add 1/3 cup of grated parmesan and stir everything together to fully combine and then set it aside. You can make the breadcrumbs first or while you are making the other ingredients, just make sure that they are finished by the time that the cheese sauce is ready to go.
We are now ready to assemble.
Add the cooked pasta into your luscious cheese sauce and stir it well. Make sure that all of your pasta is completely covered with cheese. Once everything is all mixed, transfer it into a baking dish. You can use a 10″ (or something close) oven proof skillet or two individual sized baking dishes.
Once your macaroni and cheese is in your baking vessel, spread your breadcrumb mixture over the top and we are ready to bake!
Bake at 350 degrees on a middle rack for 35-40 minutes. The cheese should be all bubbly and the breadcrumbs golden brown and crispy.
If that doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what would. Those breadcrumbs are just perfect and the cheese around the edges of the pan is all brown and crunchy. Now although the top surface is nice and crispy, the inside is still super gooey.
Serve this macaroni and cheese piping hot and if there happens to be any leftovers, which I highly doubt, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container and heat it up in a skillet with a little melted butter. It is just as good or maybe even better the second time around. Sometimes I make a double batch for that very reason…
Enjoy!
Gruyère & Mascarpone Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
Mac n'Cheese
- 8 ounces cavatappi or macaroni pasta
- 8 ounces gruyère cheese, shredded, room temperature
- 4 ounces mascarpone, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- a pinch of salt and black pepper
- a pinch of nutmeg
Breadcrumb Topping
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup parmesan, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a generous pinch of salt
- Boil cavatappi for 8-9 minutes, drain and set aside
- While the pasta is boiling, place 4 tablespoons of butter into a large deep skillet and place over medium heat
- Once the butter is fully melted, add 1/4 cup of flour and whisk to combine
- Continue whisking over medium heat for 60 seconds
- Add 2 1/2 cups of whole milk gradually, whisking constantly to avoid lumps
- Bring the sauce up to a simmer
- Simmer for 5 minutes, whisking every 30 seconds or so, as the sauce thickens
- While the white sauce is simmering, add 2 tablespoons of butter and 3/4 cup of panko into a medium skillet and place it over medium high heat
- As soon as the butter is fully melted, turn off the heat and transfer the skillet onto a heat proof surface
- As soon as the butter is fully melted, turn off the heat and transfer the skillet onto a heat proof surface
- Add 1/3 cup of grated parmesan and stir to combine with the breadcrumbs and melted butter
- Set the breadcrumb mixture aside and return to the simmering white sauce
- Add a pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg to the white sauce and whisk to combine
- Reduce the heat to medium low
- Add 4oz of mascarpone and stir with a silicone spatula to combine
- Once the mascarpone has melted, add 8oz of shredded gruyère and continue stirring until the cheese has melted
- Remove from the heat
- Add the drained pasta and stir to combine
- Transfer into a baking dish and cover with the breadcrumb mixture
- Bake on a middle rack at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and crispy
