Macaroni and Cheese Arrabiata

photo by Redsie

- Ready In:
- 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 1⁄2 lb penne pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 (16 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped fine
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3⁄4 cup pitted kalamata olive, chopped
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried basil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 1⁄2 cups milk
- 3⁄4 cup grated Fontina cheese
- 1⁄4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
directions
- Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente.
- In a medum skillet heat olive oil.
- Saute garlic until golden.
- Add the tomatoes and the peppers.
- Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 5 minutes, until tomatoes are almost mushy.
- Stir in olives and basil and set aside.
- Melt butter in heavy saucepan.
- Stir in flour.
- Cook and whisk over medium heat for l minute.
- Add milk all at once, whisking until smooth.
- Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
- Stir in fontina and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and remove from heat.
- Stir until cheese melts.
- Add salt to taste.
- Stir in tomato mixture and stir well.
- Drain macaroni.
- Return to pasta pot and shake until all moisture evaporates.
- Add sauce, sirring well to coat all the pasta.
- Pour into a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
- Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan chees.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Questions & Replies

Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
I was looking for a more traditional Arrabiata recipe, but I couldn't resist trying this intriguing dish. I'm so glad I did! It was much easier than I thought it would be from reading the instructions. I found that if you prep and then start everything at the same time, the components finish simultaneously. It was ready to go in the oven before I knew it! I followed the recipe to the letter and had no problems at all. The consistency was creamy and perfect. I loved the spicy tanginess of the dish and will make it again! Perhaps the reviewer who had trouble with the consistency didn't read the instructions and cooked the white sauce at too high of a temperature. Mine came out great!
-
I have made this twice since I tagged it in Sept!!!! I love the spiciness from the red pepper flakes and black pepper. This was really easy to put together and my boys loved it. I used a tad more fontina cheese and grated parmesan cuz we like it cheesy. Wish my photo had turned out, it simply didn't do it justice. I will keep this recipe handy, it's another *keeper* mary, we love your recipes. Still eating the "skillet corn" ;) Thanks for for sharing your recipes. (Made for Bevy Tag 9/08)
see 4 more reviews
Tweaks
-
Made this arrabiata for lunch yesterday and absolutely loved it. In fact, I thought the tomato sauce mixture (before adding milk) was so good that I might play around with it a bit and use it as a stand-alone pasta sauce for other dishes (thanks!). I did make a few modifications. I used about 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 16 oz of fresh cherry tomatoes (chopped) from my garden, and doubled the basil because I used fresh basil. Also, I used fontinella cheese instead of fontina as that is what I had at hand, using slightly more cheese than the recipe called for because I like things cheesy! Also, I ran out of milk while cooking and substituted cream for part of the milk ingredient. I thought this was easy to put together, very flavorful, and easy to sub fresh ingredients in the summer. I will definitely make this again. Thanks, Mary!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I have two boys who will usually eat most things I put in front of them. As a single mom I use them as my guinea pigs....sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I have a huge garden, blueberry and blackberry bushes. I am always looking for a new recipe. I have three cats (Xiao Mao, which means little cat in Chinese, Pumpkin and Max) and two border collies, Lucy and Grace. All my animals come from Rescue Agencies.
<a href="http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/winecoff8902/?action=view¤t=rsc002.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/winecoff8902/rsc002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/winecoff8902/lucyatpoppys005.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"><a href="http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/winecoff8902/?action=view¤t=006.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/winecoff8902/006.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/winecoff8902/?action=view¤t=hilfiger001.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/winecoff8902/hilfiger001.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">