Three Cheese Baked Pasta
Did I mention I lost 25 pounds since the last time we talked about my diet?
Well, I did. And I did it by sticking pretty closely to the Protein Power diet. The Protein Power diet is the only regimen I’ve managed to stick to, and even that’s not what you would call easy because as much as I love salads and cheese and nuts and bacon…I also love carbs. Passionately.
Especially this time of year. Something about the winter indicates — requires — carbs and comfort food. In moderation, of course. So I thought I’d forgo the fish dish this week and share one of my favorite recipes: Three Cheese Baked Pasta.
Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
3 Cups whole milk
One 10 1/2-ounce log fresh goat (yes!) cheese
1 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (3 ounces)
2 Teaspoons salt
1/4 Teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 Pound dried penne or garganelli
1/2 pound Taleggio cheese, rind removed, cheese cut into 1-inch pieces.
(Now listen, if you just wanted cheese macaroni, you shouldn’t have asked!)
Preheat the oven to 350 (I ALWAYS forget).
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the flour until smooth and cook over moderate heat, stirring until pale brown — about 4 minutes.
Slowly whisk in in the milk until smooth and bubbling.
Cook over moderately low heat, whisking often, until very thick — about 10 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese, Parmesan, salt and nutmeg.
Meanwhile — maybe I should have mentioned this earlier, but this is like a real-life reinactment, so enjoy the chaos — in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the penne until al dente (slighty chewy). Drain the penne and return it to the pot.
Hey, Penne for your thoughts?
Sorry! Could you call Michele into the kitchen? I like a glass of wine while I’m cooking — and, no, I haven’t already had a drink.
Where were we?
Oh, stir the cheese sauce into the pasta. Mound (m-o-u-n-d) the penne in eight 2-cup ovenproof dishes or spoon into a 9-by-13 inch baking dish.
Tuck the Taleggio into the pasta and scatter a few pieces of the cheese on top. Bake the pasta for about 25 minutes or until heated through and nicely browned on top.
Serve right away. 8 servings. (I mean, it will make about 8 servings, not that you should eat them all yourself.)
By the way, you can assemble the pasta ahead of time and refregerate it, but bring it to room temperature before baking.
Michele, I’m ready for a glass of wine!
