Macaroni Quattro

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
1 medium onion, diced
½ cup all-purpose flour
5 ½ cups milk
2 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more for cooking water
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 ½ cups (about 4 ½ ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 ½ cups (about 6 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese
1 ½ cups (about 6 ounces) fontina cheese
1 ½ cups (about 6 ounces) Gorgonzola cheese, broken into small pieces
1 pound ziti or mostaccioli pasta
8 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter a 3 quart casserole dish; set aside. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until soften but not browned, about 5 minutes. While the butter is bubbling, add the flour. Cook, stirring constantly with a wire whisk to coat the onions, for 1 minute. While whisking, slowly pour in the milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and become thick. Remove the pan from the heat; stir in the salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and all the cheese. Set the cheese sauce aside.

2. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Salt the water, add the pasta, and cook 2 to 3 minutes less than the manufacturer’s instructions, until the outside of the pasta is cooked and the inside underdone. Transfer the pasta to a colander, and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking; drain well. Stir the pasta into the reserved cheese sauce.



3. Shred about 3 slices of the prosciutto to yield ¼ cup; set aside. Place half of the remaining prosciutto in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer with half of the pasta mixture. Place the remaining prosciutto in a layer over the pasta, and top with the remaining pasta mixture. Sprinkle the shredded prosciutto on top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer the dish to a wire rack, and cool 5 minutes before serving.


This recipe was also adapted from Martha Stewart Living 2002 Annual Recipes. This was yet another stand out recipe that I will have to remember if I wanna impress someone. I was a little nervous about the amount of different cheeses that I really haven’t used before. I had tried all of them before but I was unsure how all of them mixed together would taste. But, I should never doubt what “The Stewart” has handed down to me from her ivory tower that is Turkey Hill. So if you are in the mood for some good ole mac and cheese but don’t wanna have the usual mixture of cheddar cheese and Velveeta (that my step mom used to make, you all know what I am talking about so get you noses out of the air), give this a try. Good luck till next time