Italian Mac-n-Cheese

Name: Italian Mac-n-Cheese
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Italian, European
Ingredients: 454 grams Italian bulk sweet sausage; 1 Tbsp butter; 1 can diced tomatoes, drained well; 237 milliliters chicken stock; 3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped; 12 crimini mushrooms, sliced; 2 Tbsps all-purpose flour; 237 milliliters heavy cream; 1 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco), optional; 2 Tbsps extra-virgin olive oil; 118 milliliters Parmesan, a couple of handfuls; 4 servings Salt and pepper; 454 grams ziti rigate, penne rigate or cavatappi (ribbed, hollow corkscrews); 283 grams sack, 2 1/2 cups, shredded Italian 4 cheese blend, available on dairy aisle

Italian Mac-n-Cheese might be just the Mediterranean recipe you are searching for. This main course has 1191 calories, 43g of protein, and 68g of fat per serving. This recipe serves 4. A mixture of chicken stock, olive oil, canned tomatoes, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so scrumptious. To use up the heavy cream you could follow this main course with the Homemade Blizzards with Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs as a dessert. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes about 30 minutes.

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water and cook pasta to a chewy al dente, about 8 minutes.

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Pasta

Water

Salt

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Pot

In a nonstick skillet, brown and crumble the sausage.

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Sausage

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Frying Pan

Drain cooked crumbles on paper towel lined plate. Return pan to heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, butter, garlic and mushrooms. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

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Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt And Pepper

Mushrooms

Butter

Garlic

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Paper Towels

Frying Pan

Saute 3 to 5 minutes, until mushrooms are lightly golden.

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Mushrooms

Preheat broiler to high.

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Broiler

To mushrooms, add flour and stir, cooking 2 minutes.

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Mushrooms

All Purpose Flour

Whisk in stock, then stir in cream. Bring cream to a bubble, then stir in 2 cups of 4 cheese blend. When cheese has melted into sauce, add tomatoes. When sauce comes to a bubble, remove from heat and adjust seasonings, adding hot sauce if desired.

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Seasoning

Hot Sauce

Tomato

Cheese

Cream

Sauce

Stock

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Whisk

Combine cheese sauce with sausage and pasta, transfer to baking dish, casserole or oven safe serving platter.

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Cheese Sauce

Sausage

Pasta

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Baking Pan

Oven

Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of 4 cheese blend and the grated Parmesan over the top and brown under hot broiler.

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Parmesan

Cheese

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Broiler

Equipment

Ingredients

Servings:

454grams

Italian bulk sweet sausage 1Tbsp

butter 1can

diced tomatoes, drained well 237milliliters

chicken stock 3

or 4 cloves garlic, chopped 12

crimini mushrooms, sliced 2Tbsps

all-purpose flour 237milliliters

heavy cream 1teaspoon

hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco), optional 2Tbsps

extra-virgin olive oil 118milliliters

Parmesan, a couple of handfuls 4servings

Salt and pepper 454grams

ziti rigate, penne rigate or cavatappi (ribbed, hollow corkscrews)283grams

sack, 2 1/2 cups, shredded Italian 4 cheese blend, available on dairy aisle

Recommended wine: Chianti, Trebbiano, Verdicchio

Chianti, Trebbiano, and Verdicchio are my top picks for Italian. Italians know food and they know wine. Trebbiano and Verdicchio are Italian white wines that pair well with fish and white meat, while Chianti is a great Italian red for heavier, bolder dishes. The Tenuta di Nozzole La Forra Chianti Classico Riserva with a 4.3 out of 5 star rating seems like a good match. It costs about 34 dollars per bottle.