all grown up. [four-cheese, white truffle oil & mushroom mac & cheese]

September 6th, 2011 by | comments

Ever since my last attempt at baked macaroni and cheese, I’ve wanted to give the dish another go. Though I was satisfied with the result, I knew I could do better. I was finally inspired to create a different recipe after tasting the white truffle oil and mushroom mac & cheese from Taste on Melrose (aka the best macaroni and cheese I’ve ever eaten). I had to recreate the pasta.

The conchiglie shells and truffle oil transform the average macaroni and cheese into a gourmet, grown-up dish. The shells guarantee gooey cheese upon every bite and the truffle oil adds a delicious dimension of flavor.

If you’ve gathered from previous posts, truffle oil is my current obsession. So, in my eyes, there’s no way this dish wouldn’t be a hit–and a hit it was. :)


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four-cheese, white truffle oil & mushroom mac & cheese
 
Ingredients
  • Mushroom recipe:
  • 4-5 cremini mushrooms, finely diced
  • 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) salted butter
  • 1 tsp. white truffle oil
  • Macaroni recipe:
  • 26.5 oz. (2 boxes) Barilla Piccolini mini conchiglie shells
  • 8 tbsp. (1 stick) salted butter
  • 7 tbsp. flour
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 cups half & half
  • ½ cup havarti
  • 1 cup Jarlsberg
  • 1 cup Gruyère
  • ½ cup grated parmesan
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 2 tsp. white truffle oil
  • 3 tsp. salt, plus more or less to taste
  • 1½ tsp. white pepper, plus more or less to taste
  • 2 fresh croissants, finely chopped in food processor
Instructions
  1. For the mushrooms: Heat a small skillet over medium heat, then add butter. Add diced mushrooms and simmer until softened. Mix in truffle oil. Set mushrooms aside. Strain before adding to cheese sauce.
  2. For the macaroni: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until slightly aldente, about 5-7 minutes. Strain pasta then return to large pot.
  4. In a large saucepan, melt butter and flour over medium heat until bubbly and thick, but not browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add whipping cream and half & half. Stirring constantly, let mixture thicken, about 8-10 minutes.
  5. Add four cheeses, salt and pepper, and continue stirring. After sauce is smooth and cheese is melted, stir in wine. Add strained mushrooms.
  6. Pour cheese sauce into pot of pasta and stir together. Add truffle oil. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Divide pasta between ramekins or pour all into one 2 qt. casserole dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of pasta.
  7. Bake ramekins or casserole dish 7-10 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

 

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