Do you want your child to be the most popular kid in the lunch room? Try this macaroni and cheese recipe. I flavored the béchamel sauce with roasted red bell pepper, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and of course a variety of cheeses. The color turns out more vibrant and the texture is perfect with both gooey and stringy cheese mixed together.
I packed the mac and cheese in a bento-style thermos lunch jar so the dish would remain warm until lunch time. My little 6-year-old sis-in-law has been going to school for less than a week but she’s already made a lot of friends. When she came home, I found an empty box. She told me her lunch box is a great conversation starter!
1. Info for Back to School Macaroni and Cheese
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 8
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Back to School Macaroni and Cheese
- 1 (16-ounce) package elbow pasta, cooked
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
- 4-½ cups milk, warmed for 2 minutes in the microwave
- ½ teaspoon white pepper, freshly ground
- ½ cup Asiago cheese, freshly grated
- ½ cup sharp yellow Cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- ½ cup Fontina cheese, freshly grated
- 2 tablespoons red pesto
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, + extra when serving
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- For the elbow pasta: Cook according to package instructions. When the pasta is cooked (cooked inside and out but still in shape and firm), reserve about 1/3 cup to ½ cup of pasta water and drain the pasta (do NOT rinse) into a large colander. Season with a little salt.
- In a saucepan, melt 8 tablespoons of butter over medium-low; you don’t want the butter to burn. Bring the heat back up to medium-high (the butter should be hot and golden) and add the flour. Keep stirring manually with a whisk for approximately 3 minutes. The flour should absorb the butter instantly and form a paste. Stir well until incorporated and add the milk in 3 stages. Increase the heat while constantly stirring for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat off. Add the cheeses (except Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese) and the red pesto sauce. Mix well. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Let the sauce rest until it’s time to assemble the dish.
- In a large non-stick pan, heat some olive oil. Add the garlic and shallot and cook until golden and fragrant. Add the cooked pasta and toss for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the béchamel sauce. Mix until the pasta is well coated.
- Grease 8 small ramekin dishes with the remaining butter (for easy clean up). Fill each ramekin with pasta. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top. Spread little pieces of butter.
- Place in the oven for at least 10 minutes (until golden crispy brown) and broil for about 2-3 minutes to get a nice golden crust if necessary.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.
- Bon appétit!