Servings: 8
Preheat: 375°
When I bit into my first expensive plate of pasta e quattro formaggi, I was surprised that it immediately struck a homey and familiar note. This is not macaroni and cheese out of a box; it isn’t cheap; it isn’t slimming; and while not particularly complicated, it also isn’t an instantly made dish. But it is resoundingly delicious and always pleases people. As one friend said upon digging in, “”You can go home again!””
For the pasta you can use any substantial pierced pasta. Shops that sell loose pasta often have macaroni or the larger ziti, about 18 inches long. The long pieces look wonderful curled around in the dish, but you need a very large pot to cook them in. If your pot isn’t big enough, just break the noodles into halves, thirds, or whatever will fit comfortably.
This will make eight generous servings. It’s the kind of dish that those who are clearly untroubled by thoughts of calories confess to enjoy eating the next day, fried in butter.
The most efficient way to organize your work is first to put the water on to boil for the pasta and then, while it’s heating, make the white sauce and grate the cheese. Once the noodles are cooked, toss them with the sauce and cheese and cover them with a layer of bread crumbs. The dish can either be baked right away or held and baked hours later.
Ingredients
Directions
THE WHITE SAUCE
3 cups milk
½ small onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
4 parsley sprigs
10 peppercorns
2 branches thyme or 2 pinches dried
a couple of gratings of nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour salt
freshly ground pepper
Slowly bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan with the onion, bay leaf, parsley, peppercorns, thyme, and nutmeg, then strain. Mix the butter and flour together; then whisk it into the hot milk. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
THE PASTA AND THE CHEESES
salt
slightly less than 1 pound macaroni or ziti, in short or long pieces
1½ cups fresh bread crumbs
¼ cup melted butter
6 ounces (about 2 cups) Gruyere, grated
2 ounces (about 2/3 cup) smoked cheese such as Swiss, Gouda, or mozzarella, grated
½ pound mozzarella cheese, fresh if possible, sliced or grated
freshly ground pepper
Bring to a boil a pot of water large enough to hold the long pasta easily, if you’re using it. If your pot isn’t large enough to allow the noodles to become quickly submerged, break them into smaller pieces. When the water boils, salt to taste and add the pasta. Cook until slightly underdone since it is going to cook again. With tubular noodles this will take less time than you might guess since, being pierced, they cook from both the inside and the outside. Check frequently-they may be done after only 4 or 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking; set the pasta aside.
Toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a large gratin or baking dish. Toss the pasta with the first 2 cheeses and the white sauce. Put a third of it into the dish, make a layer of sliced mozzarella, season with pepper to taste, and repeat with the rest of the pasta and cheese.
Cover the dish with a blanket of the buttered breadcrumbs and bake until the crumbs have browned and the dish is hot, about 45 minutes. If you are going to bake the macaroni later, set aside the bread crumbs until you put the dish in the oven. If the dish goes directly from the refrigerator to the oven, it will take about 60 minutes to heat.
If you’re serving macaroni and cheese as a main dish, serve it with something fresh, simple, and a little tart, such as a tomato and onion salad or a salad of endive or crisp romaine lettuce with fresh herbs and a lemon vinaigrette.