Macaroni and Cheese au Gratin

May 12, 2012

This recipe won 4th place out of 8 in my friends’ Mac and Cheese contest! That may not sound so impressive, but my friends are really good cooks.

Like many macaroni and cheese recipes, this one is based on a Béchamel Sauce.

Ingredients

1 recipe Béchamel Sauce
1 lb pasta: macaroni, shells, cavatappi, fusilli, or similar shape
1 to 1 ½ lbs grated cheese, of any assortment. I often use ⅓ cheddar, ⅓ gruyère, ⅓ bleu (not pre-crumbled).
Mix-ins of choice, if desired (for example: meat, diced peppers, etc.)
½ cup Panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Ready the ramekins or a large baking dish.
Start boiling some water to cook the pasta. When water is ready, cook pasta according to package directions, just shy of al dente.
In parallel, make the béchamel sauce.
Once sauce has thickened, stir cheese into sauce until completely melted. This is now a Mornay sauce.
Drain pasta and add to sauce. Add any mix-ins and combine. Transfer mixture into the baking dish or ramekins.
Sprinkle the top with the breadcrumbs.
If you want to freeze ramekins for later, stop here. Wrap the ramekins tightly in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer.
Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 °F, until the sauce is bubbling up from the sides. If baking previously frozen ramekins, cook for 2 minutes in the microwave before baking, to thaw the insides.
Finish under the broiler until the top becomes golden brown (<5 minutes). Do not let it burn!
Let cool before serving. Or not.

This is but one of the many fantastic recipes available on this blog!