Smoked gouda mac and cheese
Grate your own cheese for this one. The bagged stuff will let you down.
At a Glance
Story
Pre-shredded cheese is tossed in potato starch or cellulose so the shreds do not weld together in the bag. That coating does exactly the same thing in your sauce, which is why bagged cheese melts grainy and refuses to go glossy. Ten minutes with a box grater is the difference between a sauce and a disappointment.
Ingredients
- 8 oz cavatappi or another short twisted pasta
- 6 oz baby spinach
- 1 yellow onionhalved and thinly sliced
- 2 oz smoked goudagrated
- 2 oz fontinagrated
- 2 oz sharp cheddargrated
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ⅝ cup béchamelor milk thickened with a butter-and-flour roux
- 1 bunch thymeleaves picked
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ oz salted butter
- olive oilsalt, pepper
Method
The crumb is not a garnish. It is the only crunchy thing in a bowl of soft things, so make more of it than you think you need.
- Large pot of salted water on to boil. Grate all three cheeses onto one plate.
- Butter in a medium pan over medium-high. Panko in, seasoned, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes, until evenly browned. Into a bowl. Wipe the pan.
- Same pan, a drizzle of oil, the onion, 5 to 6 minutes, until soft and lightly colored. Spinach and seasoning, 1 to 2 minutes, until wilted. Off the heat.
- Pasta into the water, 7 to 9 minutes, to al dente. Save half a cup of the cooking water, then drain. Keep the pot.
- In the pot over medium, the béchamel, cream, thyme and half the reserved water. Whisk 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and hot. Now the cheese, a handful at a time, whisking constantly. Let each go before the next.
- Pasta and the onion and spinach back in. 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, adding the rest of the pasta water if it tightens. Taste and season.
- Into bowls, then the crumb, generously.
Keep the heat moderate once the cheese is in. Too hot and the fat splits out of the sauce and sits on top in little gold pools.
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