I recently came into a lot of cheese. A few months ago I starred this recipe on my Google Reader because I wanted to make a mac and cheese dish that I actually liked, so I grated a bunch of cheese and threw this one together last night.
Don't get me wrong, I love Mac and Cheese, but my number one complaint is that homemade recipes usually have too much cream and I don't taste any cheese. So I rarely order it.
A friend took me to lunch for my birthday a couple weeks ago at Noodles & Co. where I ordered the Macaroni and Cheese for the first time. It was good -- not my favorite, but at least it tasted like cheese. He also introduced me to Parmesan chicken on top of my mac and cheese. That was good.
Anyway, back to this recipe. Obviously, it's not macaroni, it's gnocchi. I thought it was a nice twist. And it calls for fonitina and gruyere which adds a fancier twist as well.
It asks for a pound of gnocchi. We got 13 oz. Looking at it I was afraid it wouldn't feed me and my three dinner guests, but it is so rich and heavy it filled us up just fine.
This recipe is from the
Noble Pig. I also took the photo from her website because, as usual, I get distracted with dinner guests and forget to photograph the food.
The only thing I did differently was use parmesan gnocchi (couldn't find plain) and then I cut down on the parmesan cheese (for obvious reasons).
I'm still full.
Gnocchi Mac n' Cheese
From Cuisine at Home
1 pound purchased or homemade gnocchi
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Basil leaves for garnish, optional
Preheat oven to 375o F. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions. Drain and place gnocchi in a single-layer in a 1-1/2 quart shallow baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and Dijon. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
Combine Gruyere and fontina, then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful. Once all cheese is melted, season sauce with salt and pepper.
Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano over top. Bake gnocchi until they puff and cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.
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