Thursday, September 16, 2010

Gnocchi Mac n Cheese

Oh. My. God.

I know what heaven is.

Seriously. I don't think it gets better than this. Gnocchi mac n cheese. Are you serious? First of all, that's not even comfort food, that's last meal kind of food. Second of all, how did I not think of this myself??



I can't take credit for this recipe. Actually, my old roommate sent me this recipe because she knows how much I love love love macaroni and cheese. Honestly, my last meal would involve macaroni and cheese in some significant way.

Anyway. As I mentioned I made dinner Sunday night. I got this recipe Sunday morning, and it looked so amazing I made it Sunday night. Here it is. I got it from Noble Pig.

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

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

 I'll be honest: I doubled the amount of cheese in every instance. And it turned out MAGNIFICENT. I will say, though, that these cheeses aren't readily available in my area so I had to get the imported (read: expensive) cheeses which ended up costing me about $22. So just be aware of that.

Do you see it bubbling? That's a sign of brilliance.

The finished product. I got to use up about half of the rest of the gnocchi I made and froze. We ate it with grilled chicken and simple steamed green beans.
And even though the chicken was marinated with olive oil, garlic, and lots of fresh rosemary and cooked to juicy perfection, it still paled in comparison to the gnocchi.

I seriously can't get over it. Save up some money and give it a try because it will change your life.

1 comment:

  1. So glad you liked it! I'll be making your steak taco recipe this weekend. Plus this... http://noblepig.com/2008/04/30/margaret--ritai-love-them-both.aspx

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