Four Cheese Pasta Casserole

Submitted by A la Carte

"This is the best mac & cheese ever - very grown up! It takes a little more time to make, but it's worth it! The recipe is from Cooks Illustrated. I only changed a couple of things, for instance, I like whole wheat bread for the topping. (I make no pretense of this being low-cal, and I wouldn't really even want to try and make it so - totally a splurge dish!)"

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• Bread Crumb topping

• 3 slices whole wheat bread (with crusts)
• 1⁄4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

• Pasta and Cheese

• 1 lb penne pasta
• 1 cup shredded italian Fontina cheese
• 3⁄4 cup crumbled gorgonzola
• 1⁄2 cup shredded romano cheese
• 1⁄4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon salt, plus
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons salted butter
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained (optional)

directions

1. For the topping: Tear the bread into quarters and put it in a food processor until the mixture resembles course breadcrumbs, not fine. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the Parmesan, salt and pepper. Set this aside for now.
2. For the Pasta and Cheese: Pre-heat your oven to 500°F
3. Combine the four cheeses in a large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large stockpot. When boiling, add the pasta and 1 T of salt. Stir immediately to separate the pasta. Bring back to the boil. (Cook only until al dente - 2 minutes less than package directions).
4. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a small-ish saucepan over medium-low heat. When the butter is melted and bubbling, stir in the flour and continue stirring the butter and flour mixture until no lumps remain. Gradually whisk in the cream.
5. Raise the heat to medium and bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer a minute or two more.
6. Stir in the ¼ tsp salt and the pepper and cover the cream sauce, and set aside.
7. When pasta is al dente, drain. Add the pasta to the cheese bowl and pour over the cream mixture. (At this point, I would add the drained tomatoes). Cover with foil and let stand for 3 minutes. Uncover the bowl and stir very well with a rubber spatula to make sure the cheeses are mixed thoroughly and well combined.
8. Transfer tot a 9x13” baking dish. Sprinkle with the breadcrumb topping, and press down lightly on the crumb mixture.
9. Bake in the 500F oven for about 7 minutes.

Reviews

[adopt a greyhound]

Great mac and cheese. I didn't have cream so used half and half. Would like a little more cream in it for added sauce but delicious. First time using gorgonzola in mac and cheese. Really adds to the flavor.

 

[Dav59]

Oh, how i loved this! I made it last night and served it with my very special meat loaf. It is not like the american meat loaf at all, it is full of vegetables and cheese. But back to the casserole, I did not add tomatoes, I wanted it as pure as possible. The taste was heavenly and I will be making this again very soon. Thanks for sharing.