I made this for the first time last night. I "adjusted" a recipe I saw on Food Network by Giada De Laurentiis. Here is my version:
Bechamel sauce:
1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart whole milk, at room temperature
Pinch fresh nutmeg
Sea salt and white pepper
2 cup grated mozzerella
1 pound dry rigatoni
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Bechamel sauce:
In a 2 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Always stirring, gradually add the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg, 1 cup mozzerlla and season with salt and white pepper. Set aside.
In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add the rigatoni and cook for about 5 minutes. Since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven, you want to make sure the inside is still hard. Drain in a colander. Return pasta to the pot and pour in bechamel sauce. Using a wooden spoon, mix well until all the pasta is coated with the sauce.
Into a greased 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pour the pasta with cream sauce. Smooth out top and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzerella. Dot the top with diced butter and bake in oven for 25 minutes or until bubbling and the top is golden brown.
It is a wonderful, yummy dish. The original recipe uses only 1 cup of fontina cheese (which is $9.99 a pound so that is why I substituted mozzerlla!) and also calls for some chopped proscuiito added as well. Proscuiito is extremely expensive as well so I did not add/substitute anything for that. My son and I loved this! It was sooooo creamy and easy to make!
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Don't borrow sorrow from tomorrow!
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, Sasha 4
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