Mac and Cheese all’Italiana (Italian style)

If you are a cheese lover, you probably love mac and cheese, so today it’s your day! I am sharing not one but two variations of mac and cheese Italian style, one for vegetarians and one for meat eaters. However, feel free to incorporate both variations and make one, if you eat meat. Let’s get started, shall we?

Recipe is for 2 people.

Ingredients

Orecchiette (250 grams – serves 2)

Cooking cream (I am using lactose free, but regular is fine) 200 grams

4 cloves garlic or garlic pate`

1/4 glass milk of your choice (unsweetened)

1 1/4 cup fontina, erdammer, galbanino (either one or a mix of these)

three tablespoons grated parmesan

sundried tomatoes (as many as you like) for vegetarians

cubed bacon (50g or as much as you like) for meat eaters

an amazing extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Fill a pot with water, and place it on your hob or stove to boil.

In the meantime, cut the cheese into cubes.

Then grate the parmesan, unless you are using pre-grated cheese.

Next, peel and mince the garlic cloves.

Finally, take the sundried tomatoes out of the jar and cut them into small strips.

By now, the water for the pasta should be boiling, so you can throw the orecchiette to cook following the packaging instructions.

Prepare an oven safe casserole and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil at the bottom.

When the pasta has cooked, drain it and place it in your casserole.

Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle some olive oil. Mix to combine.

Pour the cooking cream onto the pasta.

Next, add the minced garlic and mix everything together.

Now add the cubed cheese, and the parmesan and mix well again.

Finally, add your choice of sundried tomatoes or bacon, or you can add them both as I did. I added bacon to one side and sundried tomatoes to the other, but feel free to mix them together.

Finish with some more black pepper and place in the oven to bake for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how golden and crispy you like it.

When it’s ready, take it out of the oven, and serve. I like to add some more black pepper but you can also garnish with parsley.

Tips

You can use different types of pasta, but this traditional shape from Puglia makes this mac and cheese feel more Italian along with the help of the Italian cheeses.