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Macaroni & Cheese (Maccheronial Formaggio)
This Italian version of macaroni and cheese is made with a variety of cheeses. Shredded fontina and cheddar cheeses are soaked in milk to soften before cooking. Toasted breadcrumbs line a buttered baking pan. Then the softened cheeses are cooked until melted and more cheese is added before mixing the cheese sauce with cooked pasta. After transferring the pasta to the baking pan, additional breadcrumbs are sprinkled on top. The macaroni and cheese finishes baking in the oven.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 8 people
Ingredients
- 3 cups grated Fontina
- 5 cups grated Cheddar
- 4 cups milk
- Salt
- 1 lb pipette – looks like a bent pipe
- 1 piece (3 – 4 inch) day old Italian bread 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cups grated Grana Padaroo or Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 4 large sage leaves
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 F.
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Toss the fontina and cheddar in a large bowl. Pour the milk over the cheese, let it sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until the cheese begins to break down and dissolve into the milk.
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Boil a large pot of water. Cook pasta 3-4 minutes less than package cooking time. Drain and return pasta to pot.
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Grate bread on coarse holes of box grater to get 1 ½ cups coarse bread crumbs. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. When melted, stir in bread crumbs and toss until crisp and toasted about 3 minutes. Scrap crumbs into bowl and let cool. Butter a 15x10 inch baking pan. Coat bottom and sides with a thin layer of crumbs. Stir 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano into remaining crumbs.
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Pour cheese and milk into pot over medium-low heat and whisk in sage leaves. Cook until cheese melts, 7-8 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 cup grated cheese.
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Pour cheese sauce into pasta pot; stir until pasta is coated with sauce. Scrap into dish. Sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs over top. Bake until browned and bubbly about 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
I omit the sage leaves.