Issue 19
Forest Mac & Cheese
By Hot KnivesPhotos by Greg Bojorquez
If there’s one rule about gussying up mac & cheese it is never add an ingredient that will get between the two namesakes. Any gourmand flare should remain invisible. So, in our quest for a wintery “mac-and” that would elevate the genre without crossing the line, we seized on the coco-colored magic of porcini mushroom powder. Infusing a velvety three-cheese sauce with rich mushroom essence gives a funky depth to your gooey fromage and enrobes tiny pasta shells like mocha-colored Velveeta. You can find the stuff in gourmet stores or wherever you’re buying fancy cheeses. And if that freaks out some of you boxed macaroni fans, never fear, a crispy crust of salt-and-pepper Kettle Chips gives this recipe just enough cupboard-cred.I
Ingredients
3 cups pasta shells (small)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 stick butter
3 cloves garlic
1/2 white onion
4 Tbs. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. porcini mushroom powder
2 cups half and half
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb. Fontal cheese, shredded
8 oz. Smoked Chevre
8 oz. Parmesan Reggiano, grated
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Kettle Chips
1 whole nutmeg
1/4 cup fresh tarragon
1 tsp. paprika
1. Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil and drop in the pasta shells. Let return to a boil, turn down to medium heat, and let cook for five to six minutes, or until shells are cooked al dente. Remove, drain and rinse with cool water. In a large bowl, toss shells with olive oil and let sit.
2. Start your sauce in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Toss in butter and let it melt while peeling and mincing garlic and onions. Add both to the pot and cook until onions are see-through, about five minutes. Bring the heat down to low and thicken your sauce with a roux, by adding flour one tablespoon at a time and whisking vigorously. Now stir in your porcini powder, while still whisking. Cook for an additional minute or two before adding the half and half slowly and steadily while still stirring. When all of the half and half is incorporated, add the cream. Don’t let the sauce reach a boil.
3. Now cheese your sauce: Add your Fontal first, small handfuls at a time while whisking slowly. Next, break off one-inch chunks of the Smoked Chevre, still stirring. Finally, add one-fourth of your grated Parmesan, saving most of it for the top of your pasta. Let the cheese sauce bubble and thicken for one minute before removing from heat.
4. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
5. In a large mixing bowl, toss your shells with the sauce in small increments until the mixture is slightly gooier than seems proper. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Fetch your ramequins and fill each nearly to the top with the sauced pasta.
6. Prepare your garnishes: Pulse the potato chips in a food processor and chop your tarragon. First top each pasta dish with a dusting of Parmesan. (You’ll want to save half for garnish.) Next, add a tablespoon of potato chip crumbs to each, followed by tarragon and paprika. Finally, sprinkle a last kiss of cheese on top and a quick grate of the fresh nutmeg. Put your mac & cheese in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until tops are browning and crisped.
7. While waiting, complete your garnish arsenal by baking off a parmesan tuile, or cheese crisp. If you have a Silpat pan mat, use it. Otherwise, use baking parchment or aluminum foil on top of a baking sheet. Form cookie-shaped cheese mounds with about four tablespoons of parm for each on the baking sheets. Bake them alongside mac & cheese for five minutes or until sizzly and light brown. Let the tuiles sit for about a minute to firm up, then gently remove by running a knife around the edges of the each. Remove pasta and eat as is, or dump out and mix for a classic mac.
Beverage: Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes’ Saint Bon-Chiea
Soundtrack: Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”