Penne Quattro Formaggi al Forno (Four Cheese Baked Penne)

Recipe written by Roosevelt Lewis

I love baked macaroni and cheese because it is Southern comfort food at its best! I put my own twist on this classic Southern dish by using penne instead of elbow macaroni and adding Grana Padano. Grana Padano is an Italian semi-fat hard cheese that has a flavor similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano[i]. I like Grana Padano in cream sauces over Parmigiano-Reggiano because it has a little more of a creamier texture and more complex in flavor. The cheese sauce I have created for this dish is basically a Mornay sauce [ii] with the addition of white cheddar and American cheese.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• ½ pound penne
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk or condensed milk
• ½ cup Vidalia onion, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 6 ounces extra-sharp white cheddar, shredded
• 4 ounces American cheese, shredded
• 2 ounces gruyère, shredded
• 2 ounces Grana Padano, grated
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• Chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Topping: (optional)

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the penne to al dente.

While the penne is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Sauté Vidalia onion until soft. Add garlic to pot. Cook for about 1 to 2 more minutes. Whisk in the flour and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in the extra-sharp white cheddar, American cheese and gruyère cheese. Season with Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Fold the penne into the mix. Let penne sit in sauce for 5 minutes. Pour penne and cheese mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with Grana Padano.

If using breadcrumbs, melt the unsalted butter in a sauté pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the penne with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Note: A lot of recipes use eggs in bake pasta dishes, but to me it has more of an egg custard like texture. To me macaroni and cheese should be creamy, not like an egg custard.

---

[i] Parmesan is the French name for Parmigiano.

[ii] Mornay sauce is a béchamel sauce (white sauce) that consists of ½ gruyère cheese and Parmesan cheese.