This recipe is based on our Retail Manager, Sasha's favorite Mac and Cheese dish. The addition of the egg helps to emulsify the cheese into the sauce and make it have more of a creamy texture. There's no cheese lumps in this dish! Adding the spices helps the dish to have a little more complexity and it elevates the flavor of the special cheeses that are used. Sasha has found that mixing the cheese types based on certain characteristics, such as texture and varied flavors achieves a more desirable result versus using just a single type of cheese.
We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!
Serves 6.
Ingredients:
- 16 oz box of Semolina Pasta Fusilli (or any other shape)
- 1 whole egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup (2 oz) salted butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoons (overflowing) dry mustard
- 1/3 pound Challerhocker
- 1/3 pound Barber's English Cheddar
- 1/3 pound Double Cream Gouda
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs (optional)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350.
Cook fusilli for 3 minutes (4 minutes for a slightly softer texture), pasta will be al dente when the dish is fully cooked. Drain.
Grate all 3 cheeses and set aside.
In small bowl, beat egg.
In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium low heat. Cook mixture for 3 to 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Be careful not to burn it.
Pour in milk, add dried mustard and spices and whisk until smooth. Cook for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce. [TIP: don't worry if the sauce doesn't get super thick, it will lose more moisture while it bakes in the oven. The texture of the sauce will become nice and custardy. Yum!]
Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into the beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the egg. Whisk together until smooth.
Pour egg mixture into the sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
Add in 2/3 of the cheese mixture and stir to melt. Save other 1/3 of mixture to add to the top of the Mac and Cheese before putting into the oven.
Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt as needed.
Pour drained fusilli into a casserole dish along with the sauce and stir to combine. Top with the remaining cheese mixture and breadcrumbs (if desired). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.
Serve immediately. Enjoy!