MACARONI CHEESE

I love cheese, literally. And when they are absolute protagonists of a recipe, just like in this case, I really find it hard to resist! The macaroni cheese, you must know, is a dish with stars and stripes, whose origins are to be traced back to the old continent: the first testimonies, in fact, date back to some medieval French and English recipe books in which for the first time appear "casseroles of pasta and cheese ”.

But there is more: it seems, in fact, that the merit of the spread, indeed of the landing, of this dish in America is to be attributed even to  Thomas Jefferson. Yes, he himself, the president! He fell so much in love with this dish, after having tasted it in Paris, that he wanted to immediately bring it overseas: and how to blame him!

As you can see, the kitchen always reveals many surprising and extremely curious facts, in the end, why resist the macaroni cheese? For this I leave you my version, from my recipe book directly to your table!

Freshly baked macaroni cheese in a pan

PREPARATION: 40 min. COOKING:  1, 5 h. DIFFICULTY: easy  COST:  medium
MACARONI CHEESE: INGREDIENTS FOR 4/6 PEOPLE FOR AN 18 × 24 CM PAN
cellentani 400 g
breadcrumbs 30 g
butter 30 g

FOR THE CREAM OF CHEESES
butter 50 g
flour 00 50 g
whole fresh milk 1 l
yellow cheddar 250 g
white cheddar 250 g
salt up to taste
ground black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese grated 100 g

MACCHERONI CHEESE: PROCEDURE
To prepare macaroni and cheese, start with the cream of cheese. Put a pan on the heat and melt the butter; sift the flour, add it and mix well with a hand whisk to obtain a golden cream. Now pour the milk, mix well and cook over low heat until you have a creamy and homogeneous mixture; finally, rule with pepper and salt to your liking. Cut all the cheeses into small pieces and add them to the pot; continue cooking for another 8 minutes or so, stirring constantly.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta in abundant salted water. I recommend however: leave the macaroni al dente, which means that you will have to stop cooking 2-3 minutes before the time shown on the package.

Get a rather large container and drain the pasta directly inside; pour a little oil and mix. Also add the cream cheese, then take the pan and cover both the base and the sides with the breadcrumbs, covering them evenly.

Transfer the pasta with the cream into the pan and spread the grated Parmesan on the surface. And now the cooking: bake in a preheated static oven at 180 ° for about 30-35 minutes. Finally, finish cooking for 15 minutes with the grill * mode. Once the necessary time has passed, turn out your macaroni cheese and ... enjoy your meal!

MAC AND CHEESE: NOTES
* By doing so, you will get a tasty golden crust on the surface

As an alternative to cheddar, you can also use other soft cheeses of your choice, such as Emmentaler or fontina: in short, let your imagination run wild!

If you want to give a further note of flavor, you can add a pinch of nutmeg to the cream of cheese.

MACARONI CHEESE: CONSERVATION
Once ready, I suggest you eat your macaroni cheese at the moment . If they move forward, you can keep them for up to 1-2 days in a closed refrigerator in an airtight container. I do not recommend freezing.