Estate Comforts
Mac and Cheese Northern Italian Style
The Strategy:
A breathtaking lesson in European restraint. Moving away from the heavy, aggressively sharp cheddar blends of American casseroles, this dish relies entirely on a delicate, perfectly executed béchamel fortified only with a whisper of nutmeg and the clean, nutty elegance of pure Parmesan. It proves that macaroni and cheese can be a genuinely sophisticated course.
Ingredients
For White Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons butter, 1⁄2 stick
- 1⁄4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1⁄8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated, about 1⁄2 cup
For pasta:
- 8 ounces dried elbow macaroni, about 2 cups
- 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved, about 1⁄2 cup
- coarse black pepper
Instructions
For White Sauce:
- Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat.
- Once the butter melts and starts to bubble, whisk in the flour. Cook the flour in the butter, whisking it around on the bottom of the pot to produce a smooth paste (a roux), about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour the milk into the paste, whisking until combined.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking and whisking until the sauce begins to thicken. You will know the sauce is thick enough by dipping a spoon into it. Take your finger and run it through the sauce coating the back of the spoon. If you can see a line from your finger, the sauce is ready. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese.
For pasta:
- Cook the noodles in a pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 12 minutes.
- Drain the noodles and toss into the pot with the hot White Sauce.
- Divide into bowls.
- Shave Parmesan cheese over the top.
- Add a fresh grind of pepper to each bowl and dig in!
Thing to Note:
If you set your milk out, bringing it to room temperature before you start the sauce, it will incorporate into the hot roux much more smoothly and cook faster. Also, if you don’t have white pepper, regular black pepper will be just fine—the tiny black specks will simply add visual distinction to your pristine white sauce.
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The Heart of the Table
This is macaroni and cheese stripped down to its absolute, most elegant essence. Without the heavy blanket of sharp cheddar to hide behind, the technique must be flawless. When executed correctly, the delicate perfume of the nutmeg and the sharp, salty bite of the shaved Parmesan transform a humble childhood staple into a dish worthy of a formal dining room.
Neighborly Grace
- THE PRESENTATION: Do not serve this out of a communal baking dish. Plate it individually in shallow, dark ceramic bowls to contrast the pure white sauce. Use a vegetable peeler to aggressively shave long, thick ribbons of fresh Parmesan over the top right before serving, and finish with exactly one turn of fresh black pepper.
- THE POUR: An Italian Pinot Grigio or a dry, crisp Soave. The wine must be highly acidic and entirely unoaked to cut cleanly through the rich butterfat of the béchamel.
- THE VIBE: Quiet, elegant, and romantic. This is a remarkably sophisticated comfort food that demands a properly set table, heavy silver flatware, and excellent company.
