| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Cook: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Cook: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 5 cloves chopped garlic, plus 3 cloves whole garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoons paprika, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 quarts water, boiling
- 1 pound dry elbow macaroni
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- Olive oil, to taste
- 1 pound aged sharp Cheddar
- 3/4 cup white Cheddar
- 3 ounces Asiago
- 3 ounces Pecorino
- 3 ounces Gorgonzola
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup creme fraiche
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 lemon, juiced, 1/2 lemon, zested
- 2 teaspoons finely ground Mediterranean sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 3 organic eggs, beaten
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 ounces basil leaves
- 2 ounces raw pine nuts
- 1-ounce feta cheese
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup creme fraiche
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- French bread, cut diagonally
- Unsalted butter, as needed
Instructions
- For the pasta:
- Prepare pasta stock by adding 5 cloves garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, paprika, smoked paprika, to the water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain stock and return liquid to the pot. Bring to a boil and add macaroni until done. Strain pasta and toss with dry mustard. Toss in salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste.
- Grate all the cheeses, making sure to keep Asiago and Pecorino separate from the Cheddars. Crumble the Gorgonzola cheese. Melt the butter and add the flour through a fine-mesh sieve. Add cream and creme fraiche. Add dry mustard, Dijon mustard, paprika, smoked paprika, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Add Gorgonzola and Cheddar cheeses to the sauce, returning to low heat.
- Add the pasta to the cheese sauce and add egg, combine well. Top with grated Asiago and Pecorino. Put in individual crocks and bake until bubbly golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- For the pesto:
- Blend the olive oil, lemon zest, basil, pine nuts, feta, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor to make basil pesto.
- In a saucier, combine the heavy cream, creme fraiche, Dijon mustard, dry mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook on medium heat until flavors meld and sauce reduces.
- Cut bread into 8 toastettes. Season with salt, pepper and butter. Put in oven to toast. Remove and drizzle with basil pesto and cream sauce.
- Serve macaroni and cheese and serve immediately with toastettes.
Reviews
As a developing foodie, this recipe was a welcome update to an old comfort classic. What was really neat was I was watching the competition rerun the first time I made it! It definitely should have won!
I honestly don’t understand those who waste our time without cooking the recipe. Once and for all, we don’t care about your prejudices about what does or does not go in to food. We want to know what it tastes like, how hard or easy it is to make and any tips you might have for improving the recipe.
To the recipe: First, it is way too long, it takes way too many ingredients and it is absolutely delicious! If you take nothing else away from this recipe, it is the spice bath for the pasta. It’s great! You can also use whole wheat macaroni to add flavor, but the spices are very good.
True, you may want to vary the cheese to meet your personal taste, but give this recipe a chance. It’s very good.
To the recipe: First, it is way too long, it takes way too many ingredients and it is absolutely delicious! If you take nothing else away from this recipe, it is the spice bath for the pasta. It’s great! You can also use whole wheat macaroni to add flavor, but the spices are very good.
True, you may want to vary the cheese to meet your personal taste, but give this recipe a chance. It’s very good.
This is not a “quintessential” mac and cheese, because no mac and cheese has garlic or cloves in it! Yuck.
Melissa’s mac and cheese looked delicious and the receipe sounds amazing!
I like this recipe as a base for my Mac n Cheese because it combines the use of a bechamel-based cheese sauce (classically known as Mornay sauce) as a foundation for flavor but also incorporates the use of egg to bind and for texture. As is, the recipe may be too spohisticated for young palates, but with simple modifications (use kid friendly cheeses such as cheddar and montery jack and limit spices) it is a wonderfully versitile recipe that the whole family can enjoy. Also, rather than baking in individual crocks, pour the product into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with homemade breadcrumbs (6 slices of good quality white bread torn into rough pieces, 3 tablespoons of butter, use food processor to blend and mulch, and then toss with and about 1 cup of shredded cheese). The result using this recipe is Mac N Cheese that has wonderful flavor, texture and presentation.