Before anything, I need to make two things clear. First, there is no such thing as healthy Mac and Cheese. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something. Second, no two Mac and Cheeses are alike. Every addition, tweak, and time difference will make each recipe unique in its own way. That being said, do not change, tweak, or adjust the timing of my recipe. How dare you even think to. This is perfection. Bask in it.
Notes
- Using an eight inch cast iron pan is the only thing I would cook this in. It keeps the recipe to two pots. You can bake the mac with it, and it keeps everything warm for much longer than any other oven safe pot. If you do not have a cast iron pan, get one, but until then, any oven safe pan will do.
- Orecchiette is the best pasta for mac. Shells are a fine substitute. Elbows, rotini, and cavatappi fall short when it comes to holding standard cheese to pasta ratio.
- This is less of a note and more of a calming passage about the shallots. Shallots? Yes, shallots are in the mac and cheese. No, you will not really taste them. They blend perfectly into the cheese and add a nice texture. I am not some animal who adds vegetables needlessly into my mac. This is a necessity. Trust me.
- You can use any standard unflavored breadcrumb mix if you want or even make your own bread crumbs, but I stick with panko. It is the best to top mac and cheese with.
- The recipe calls for a very small amount of smoked gouda because it is an overpowering cheese. Start with what I have there, add more if you want to increase the flavor.
Toasted Panko Bread Crumbs
three fourths cup of panko bread crumbs
one and a half tablespoons of unsalted butter
two medium cloves of garlic, minced
one teaspoon of salt
two teaspoons of pepper
In a cast iron pan, bring butter up to medium heat. Once fully melted, add garlic and allow to simmer for thirty seconds. Add salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs.
Toast in the pan for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Once they are all pretty browned, turn the heat up to high and stop stirring for thirty seconds. Cut the heat and put the breadcrumbs in a bowl on the side.
Mac and Cheese
one box of orecchiette
three and a half tablespoons of unsalted butter
one large shallot, sliced thin
two and a half tablespoons of all purpose flour
one and a half cups of whole milk
fourth cup of parmesan cheese, plus another fourth cup set aside
one and a half cups of swiss cheese, shredded
one and a half cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
one and a half tablespoons of smoked gouda, cubed
one tablespoon of worcheshire sauce
two teaspoons of salt
one and a half tablespoons of pepper
toasted breadcrumbs
Bring a pasta pot filled with well-salted water to boil. Once boiling, add the pasta. Once the pasta is al dente, strain and set aside.
Set oven to three hundred-and-sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit.
Bring the cast iron pan up to medium heat and add one tablespoon of butter to melt. Add the shallots, stir occasionally until they are close to browned, about eight minutes.
Once the shallots are browned, add the rest of the butter and the flour and make a roux. Once the roux is well combined, bring the heat to medium-low, add the milk, and stir to combine everything.
Add the fourth cup of parmesan, and then add cheddar and swiss cheeses in batches, stirring to combine before adding more until it is all in. Add the gouda cubes and stir to combine.
Add worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper, stir.
Once the cheese is combined, cut the heat and begin adding the cooked pasta in four batches. With each batch, fold the pasta over until it is well covered by the cheese.
Add the second fourth cup of parmesan cheese to the toasted breadcrumbs bowl.
Once the pasta is folded in with the cheese completely, top the entire pan with the breadcrumbs and cheese and place uncovered in the oven for five to ten minutes, depending on how browned you would like the top.
Enjoy. You won’t really have the option not to.
I know I usually end the posts with the empty plate/bowl/pan picture. But I ate everything while I cleaned. Trust me, it’s all gone.
Side rant time since I have not done one yet.
Our planet is dying. I am almost certain my children won’t be able to have children in the future because the Earth will be a blistering hellscape. But I do have some hope that we can change that all now. I am taking classes on the current meat farming industries issues and I have done a lot of research on it myself, but I’m not trying to have that long of a rant. Basically, stop eating so much meat, especially red meat, and stop eating so much dairy, yes I know this is a mac and cheese post. The carbon output that beef and dairy production is almost six times of swine production and seven of poultry. Seriously, try to skip the cheeseburger every so often, for the sake of the planet. No one’s saying go vegan or vegetarian, certainly not me, but stop being selfish, a fried chicken sandwich beats out most burgers anyway.
Here are some links, in case any of y’all care.
http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/carbon-footprint-factsheet
breadandboredom.com 