| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Cook: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, for the baking dish
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1-inch-thick slice pancetta, cut into small dice
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 5 cups whole milk, or more if needed, hot
- 4 large egg yolks, lightly whisked
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups (8 ounces) grated asiago cheese, plus more for the top
- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated Irish white cheddar cheese, plus more for the top
- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated American cheddar cheese, plus more for the top
- 1 cup (4 ounces) grated aged fontina cheese, plus more for the top
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for the top
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked just under al dente
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-by-10-by-2-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Add the garlic to the fat in the pan and cook until lightly golden brown, 1 minute. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk, raise the heat to high and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 3 to about 5 minutes. Whisk in the eggs until incorporated and let cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the thyme, cayenne and all the different cheeses until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper. If the mixture appears too thick, add additional warm milk, 1/4 cup at a time.
- Put the cooked macaroni in a large bowl, add the cheese sauce, reserved pancetta, and the parsley, and stir until combined. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Combine an additional 1/4 cup each asiago, cheddars, fontina and parmesan in a bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake until the dish is heated through and the top is a light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1570 |
| Total Fat | 87 g |
| Saturated Fat | 48 g |
| Carbohydrates | 111 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 20 g |
| Protein | 84 g |
| Cholesterol | 410 mg |
| Sodium | 2011 mg |
Reviews
This is one of the best mac and cheese recipes I’ve come across. Healthy is not the goal here. It’s good comfort food!
I enjoyed the cheese aspect to this dish
I made this mac and cheese for a Christmas party one year at my job, Everyone loved it. I have since become famous for my mac and cheese. It is usually gone before the party starts. I had lost the recipe and has gone to great lengths to find it again. I am about to prepare it for my party tomorrow. It is the best. Love it. Thanks Bobby.
This was sooooo good! It takes a while, but if you do all of the prep work in advance, it goes pretty smoothly. The cheese is expensive, but luckily we have a discount store in my area called Marcs and I go there for the cheeses, it’s at least 50% cheaper for the cheese. Use a food processor to grate the cheeses and it will be much quicker! I’ve made this dish so many times that it has officially replaced my original recipe!
This is fabulous! There is nothing wrong with the cholesterol and sodium content of this (these are necessary to your body, contrary to what the general population of MDs tell you. It will be a great low carb dish (using Dreamfield’s pasta and substitue milk for cream or half & half – this is a healthy “good fat” dish I will keep coming back to. Thanks Bobby!
I can’t wait to make this; it looks like a great blend of flavors to me. About the expense, making an awesome home-made macaroni and cheese is always an expensive proposition; great cheese isn’t cheap. As another rater has suggested, using your food processor lessens the work of grating the cheese. Also, if you can find one, or improvise one, use a double boiler to make the sauce, but you’re still going to have to whisk it, occasionally, to keep it smooth; but at least it won’t burn. And lastly, if you want a cheap mac and cheese, get the boxed kind.
This was hands down the best macaroni and cheese EVER!!! My family went nuts over it! I agree it is pricey but I went to deli and sampled some cheeses and picked a few different ones,that were close in taste and texture, to reduce price. I will be making these a staple at our holiday meals! Thanks bobby
This recipe is a bit expensive and time consuming but nothing worthwhile is easy!! If you want plain old “run of the mill” Mac and Cheese then look for a different recipe. If you want something special and worth remembering then this is it! I made this for Christmas Eve dinner and everyone raved! I had several requests for the recipe. I used my food processor to grate all of the cheeses – it would be a chore to do all that grating by hand. Also – you must not walk away from the sauce but you really don’t have to whisk it “constantly”, watch the heat and keep your eye on it!
This recipe took a VERY long time to prepare. Grating five cheeses, chopping and cooking the pancetta, etc. It is also a bit expensive. For all that work it is only so-so. I much prefer Sunny Anderson’s Spicy Mac and Cheese. Much less prep time and better flavor.
This recipe was not a success for me. I still gave it three stars because I’m pretty sure I made some mistakes! For one, I should have had everything prepared and set out before beginning the cooking process. Two, Bobby is a man…I am a woman; my arms were killing me by the time I got the sauce to thicken from all the whisking! I recommend having a man around to help prepare this dish (unless you are Cat Cora. The flavors were great, but I’m afraid the sauce got a little too burnt from my lack of preparation and whisking endurance. I will definitely be giving this recipe another try, though!