Italian Macaroni and Cheese (A.K.A. Baked Shells with Fontina and Parmesan Bread Crumbs)
Before yesterday, my sister didn’t know how to fry chicken. And being that she’s in her third trimester – when all things must align and get done RIGHT NOW BEFORE THE BABY COMES OR YOU WILL SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE BELLY – my grandmother, my mother, my spectacularly-pregnant sister and I gathered at Mom’s to commence the frying. The weather has been unseasonably cool, so we made it through three fryers without breaking a sweat. We also shucked, scraped and fried 24 ears of fresh sweet corn. Jennifer and I scraped and talked trash about it other’s technique; Momma tended the huge skillet full of creamy, starchy corn and butter; and Mommaw was the Official Taste-Tester.
While we worked, we talked baby names. Jenn yelled from the kitchen to Mommaw: “What if we gave her your name but spelled it with a ‘C’ instead of a ‘K.’”
“Well, you could,” Mommaw said. “But it’d be wrong.”
Me neither.
For a great macaroni and cheese, you need one high-quality cheese and lots of it. Two if you’re having company. The main cheese should be a melt-in-your-mouth cheese, like a sharp Cheddar or a Gruyere. The second cheese might be a handful of Parmesan, something to mix with bread crumbs if you want a crunchy topping with a little bite.
In the summertime, I like to make this Italian version of mac and cheese: Baked Shells with Fontina and Parmesan Bread Crumbs. If you’ve never tried Fontina, it’s a semi-hard Italian cheese that might remind you of Gruyere or Swiss. It’s creamy and nutty and fairly pungent. For the best flavor and that perfect, buttery texture, make sure to use a Fontina made in Italy. (Once, I grabbed a Fontina made by a company with an Italian name, but that company was actually located in Denmark. Denmark, Wisconsin. It pays to read the entire label.)
This Italian mac and cheese seems right to me when it’s hot outside, because it’s so much lighter than the traditional Cheddar. It’s not front-loaded with eggs, sour cream, whole milk or half-and-half. The sauce contains butter and cream, but not as much as you’d find in other recipes. Instead, the real flavor comes from the contrast between the creamy Fontina and the biting Parmesan-flavored bread crumbs. It’s even better the next day. And it’s delicious cold. Pair it with a green salad and a little something off the grill, and you’ve got a perfect summer supper.
Of course, it would also go nicely with fried chicken and fresh sweet corn.
Baked Shells with Fontina and Parmesan Bread Crumbs
From Jack Bishop’s “The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook”
Serves 4 to 6
- 1 pound small shells
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces (about 2 cups) Italian Fontina cheese
- Salt
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1. Prepare shells according to package directions, but cook only until they are 1 to 2 minutes shy of al dente. Then drain.
2. Meanwhile, dice 4 tablespoons of the butter and place in a large bowl. Warm the cream in the microwave, about 1 minute. Cover to keep the cream warm. Shred the Fontina.
3. Stir the shells into the bowl with the butter. Toss to coat well. Stir in the warm cream and Fontina, and stir until the cheese starts to melt. Season with salt to taste and the nutmeg.
4. Pour the mixture into a greased 13-by-9 ceramic or glass baking dish. Combine the bread crumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and sprinkle over the pasta. Dice the remaining tablespoon butter, and dot the crumb topping with small pieces of butter.
5. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the topping turns golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Sounds like a great day! Did you grandmother reveal any more of her fried chicken secrets?
Cooking with a small crowd sounds like a great way to spend the day, and fontina mac n cheese? Now that's heaven to me! Rhyme unintended…
Yesterday was a truly rare and wonderful time… a day of memories made. Soon school will start, babies will come, and quiet laid back lifestyles will end. Cooking with you children, whether 3 or 30, can be the most fun. We are all cooks in progress, we learn from each other and laugh at each others messes. If you are blessed you have a Mommow to keep everything on an even keel. Other teachers will talk about trips to Las Vegas, I'll talk about the day we cooked corn.
I love cheese so of course this sounds amazing to me. Simple sounds like it works perfectly in this case. I will definitely have to try it!
Oh yum! I've been craving a mac and cheese too!
oh! I can’t wait to make this! Thank you!
wow this is taking mac n cheese to another level…good luck to ur sis.
I totally agree on keeping it simple with multiple cheese macs — once you get past 3 it's more about bragging rights.
Italian fontina is the best, but so expensive here. Mac & cheese for me is about comfort and relaxing with a big bowl of warm creamy meltiness, using fontina would be the ultimate indulgence, like watching DVDs on the couch in cashmere trackies.
Okay seriously, should a picture and recipe bring you to your knees? I am a total mac and cheese girl and can't wait to give this a try!!! It looks amazingly delicious!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I loved your post. It has a great recipe and a great story. I wish you and your sister all the best with the "new arrival".
Ever since college I haven't craved Mac & Cheese EVER. Until this week it just crept up on me – I don't understand – 25 years NO cravings none, nada. Looks like I'm going to have to make this one – LOVE the Mommaw story!
Sounds and looks good especially the crust! Being little food snobs the twins don't want "the blue box" stuff. Nope, they want the "real" tihng which in the past has meant making a roux and buying more than just shredded cheese. Thanks for sharing. This actually looks easier than some of the other recipes I've made in the past. That nutmeg is looking interesting too.
~ingrid
What a wonderful day with multi generations….that sounds like so much fun!!!! This dish looks wonderful!!!!
What a wonderful day with multi generations….that sounds like so much fun!!!! This dish looks wonderful!!!!
Great story and beautiful recipe!
This truely sounds delicious!
Mmmm…Fontina. I've been eating Smoked Fontina on my ham sandwiches for lunch this week. To. Die.
Mmm. sounds delish. I've never made mac and cheese with fontina, but now I have a major craving for the stuff. Off to eat hunks of cheese…
Oh wow – this looks wonderful. What a great twist on mac and cheese :)
Hi Rebecca
Is that fresh bread crumbs or canned bread crumbs.
Hey, Jackie! Preferably fresh bread crumbs.