A preview from Massimo Bottura's Kitchen Quarantine on page 80 of our July Italian issue: Bottura's Italian-Modenese recipe for mac and cheese!
Italian Modenese Mac & Cheese by Massimo Bottura
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
For the béchamel:
2 cups milk, 3 oz Parmigiano cheese (preferably aged 30 months), 2 oz butter, 1 ½ oz flour, Salt, Nutmeg
For the pasta:
11 oz mixed leftover pasta (spaghetti, fusilli, macaroni), 5 oz mortadella cubes, 4 oz blue goat's cheese, in chunks, 3 oz cottage cheese, 3 oz smoked caciotta cheese to finish, 2 ½ oz grated pecorino cheese, 2 ½ grated Parmigiano cheese, 2 ½ grated pecorino cheese, The milk from one whole mozzarella
Method:
For the béchamel:
Whisk the flour with the butter in a saucepan over low heat, adding the warm milk a little at a time. Stir continuously to avoid lumps. Add the grated parmigiano cheese, 1 tablespoon at a time, followed by a pinch of salt and nutmeg.
For the pasta:
Boil the leftover pasta al dente and drain. Pour half of the béchamel sauce over the bottom of a round cake tin (with a diameter of 24-26 cm). Add the mixed pasta – even broken up a little bit for longer varieties like spaghetti. Spread the ricotta cheese on top and sprinkle with the milk of one whole mozzarella. (Cut the mozzarella in half and squeeze the milk over the surface.) Distribute the mortadella and blue cheese cubes in the mold. Sprinkle with grated pecorino and pecorino di fossa cheese. Cover everything with the remaining béchamel sauce and sprinkle with plenty of grated parmigiano cheese. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and finish with grated smoked caciotta cheese.
