Comfort food at its finest, this decadent mac and cheese recipe is elevated with the addition of black truffle oil and locally sourced pancetta, yet simple enough to make when there is little time to plan.
- Prep time 5 minutes
- Total time 1 hour & 5 minutes
- Portion size 4 servings
Ingredients
Mornay Sauce:
Method
Recipe courtesy of the Catelli 150th Anniversary Recipe Collection—celebrating 150 years young with Canada.
Preheat oven to 450˚F. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and salt, and sauté for 3 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and cook for 3 minutes. Do not allow flour to brown; reduce heat if necessary, stirring constantly.
Whisk in milk and cream for 2-3 minutes. Bring to a simmer, add bay leaf and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low, gently simmer for 30 minutes. Whisk occasionally to avoid sauce from scorching. Remove from heat and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Strain Mornay sauce into a new clean pot and place over low heat. Add Comte cheese, stirring to melt.
Bring 4 liters of salted water to a boil and cook macaroni according to package directions.
Strain cooked pasta. Combine macaroni, pancetta and Mornay sauce.
Divide amongst 4 oven safe dishes. Top with remaining Comte cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes.
Remove from oven to let cool; drizzle finished dish with black truffle oil.
Chef's Tip: If sauce begins to scorch, transfer to a new pan immediately without scraping the bottom of the first pan. It's important to only add truffle oil at the end and not during the cooking process as the heat will impact the fragrance and flavour.
