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Baked Pasta with 4 Cheeses

This is my FAVORITE pasta dish of all time!!!!!!

I did it last night as a Birthday present dinner for my friend Walter, who traveled with me to Spain this past Summer. And whom I am trying to convince to apply with me to be in The Amazing Race.

If I have to ask for a Last Meal, this will be the dish I would request. This is an adaptation from a Martha Stewart recipe, which is actually a recipe from a Providence, Rhode Island restaurant called Al Forno. I’ve never been to Providence, but if I get to go, Al Forno is the only restuarant I need to go.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do…

BAKED PASTA WITH 4 CHEESES

1/2 pound whole-wheat pasta – shells, penne or rigatoni would all work well

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese – I sometimes use a pre-shredded cheese blend from the store

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided in half – half for mixture, half for topping

1/4 cup freshly grated Fontina cheese

2 tablespoons ricotta cheese

1/2 cup pureed tomatoes

10 fresh basil leaves, torn with your hands

1/4 teaspoon salt

a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper

Heat oven to 500 degrees.
Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.
While pasta cooks, place cream, cheeses, pureed tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil in a large bowl.
Drain pasta and toss together with cheese mixture in bowl.
Pour into a medium-sized baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup remaining Pecorino Romano on top.
Bake until bubbly and brown on top for about 15 minutes.
Turn off oven and leave in there for a few minutes for the sauce to set a bit.
Serve immediately afterwards while still hot.

It’s important to watch out the measurements of the cheeses. The right amount will melt beautifully and create the most wonderful sauce. When I started to eye-ball the amounts, sometimes the results were not as I expected.

I make this recipe right in my toaster oven…

And the recipe doesn’t reheat very well. It will still be tasty, but the sauce becomes a bit oily… just so you know. This is one of those recipes to make and eat in the moment. Every time I do it for company, people can’t believe that came out of a home kitchen. It’s unbelievable!!!

I served this last night with my Cinammon Vanilla Plantains and my Super Easily Dressed Green Salad. Oh, and I also did my Garlic Parsley Breadsticks.

Buen Provecho.

Tags: basil, cheese, fontina, mozzarella, pasta, pecorino romano, tomato

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Categories main courses

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

17 Nov

In the next few posts, I will share with you the Thanksgiving Menu I have chosen for this year.

For the main course, I will prepare a Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese. This mac and cheese packs a lot of nutritional punch and color from the butternut squash in the cheese sauce. You can substitute the squash for regular pumpkin. I works just the same.

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Steamed pumpkin or butternut squash – about 1 pound
1 pound whole-wheat elbow macaroni or other tubular pasta
2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
4 ounces Blend of melting cheeses – Mozzarella, Asiago, Fontina, etc.
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Steam the butternut squash or pumpkin in a pot with just an inch of water. Season with salt. When it is cooked, puree in a food procesor.
Bring a large pot to a boil for the pasta.
Meanwhile, start building the cheese sauce. In a pot under medium heat, mix together the milk, blend and melt the cheeses, mix the mustard, and pureed butternut squash. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure the pot is big enough to accomodate the sauce and the pasta when it’s cooked.
Add the macaroni to boling water seasoned with salt and cook until tender but firm.
Drain cooked pasta and transfer to the pot with the cheese sauce. Mix well together.
Transfer to a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and some of the leftover Melting Cheese blend all over the top.
Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned. Everything is already cooked, you’re just heating everything together and browining the cheese on top.

This recipe is delicious. The mustard gives it a different and grown-up taste. You can also roast the butternut squash, which gives it a more robust flavor.