There are many ingredients that went into this meal along with two recipes on top of the actual mac and cheese recipe.
I am going to start with those two recipes before moving on to the actual meal!
First things first...Oven Dried Tomatoes! MAKE SURE TO READ THE DIRECTIONS!!
Ingredients:
2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh herb sprigs, such as thyme, rosemary, or sage (optional)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preheat the oven to 250. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, in a single layer on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake until slightly shriveled but still plump, ABOUT 5 HOURS!! (yes, it took the whole time!)
*If not using immediately, refrigerate the dried tomatoes in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Or layer them with the herb sprigs, if desired. Add olive oil to cover, seal tightly, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.* We made ours today, so we skipped this step!
Next, Bechamel Sauce
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 rib celery, chopped
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
3 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 small bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot, carrot and celery and cook, covered until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon and cook until it lightens in color, about 2 minutes.
Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a boil.
Add the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes.
Strain the sauce into a bowl and season with salt, nutmeg, and pepper.
Press plastic wrap on the surface of the sauce until ready to use.
On to the actual recipe! Mac and Cheese with Red Peppers and Tomatoes
Ingredients:
1 pound ziti or penne pasta (we used a mixture of penne and bowtie!)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs, preferably sourdough bread
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
6 ounces shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 1 1/3 cups) *we could not find this so we used another cows milk based cheese*
3 ounces shredded smoked gouda cheese (about 1 cup)
1 recipe hot bechamel sauce (recipe is above)
10 oven-dried tomato halves (recipe is above)
1 roasted red pepper, seeded and diced (I cut the pepper in half and placed cut side down in oven while the oven was preheating and until it was roasted!)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly butter a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil over high heat; salt it generously. Add the pasta and boil, stirring occasionally, until it just barely al dente (it will finish cooking in the sauce) Drain the pasta and put it in a large bowl and cool.
While the pasta cooks, melt the butter with the garlic clove in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs, parsley and thyme and toss to coat the bread crumbs thoroughly with the butter. Remove the garlic clove and sit the crumbs aside.
some of the cheeses are really smelly, but I have an amazing husband who grated them for me! :) love you babe!
Toss the pasta with the cheeses. Fold in the bechamel sauce, then the tomatoes, red pepper, salt, and pepper.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and scatter the bread crumbs over the top.
Bake until the sauce bubbles and the crumbs crisp and brown, 25 to 30 minutes, (ours didn't even take this long!)
Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
*As mentioned in the beginning...it is a long process, but definitely worth it!*
Jay is a natural Wolfgang Puck :)
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