Creamy Baked Pasta with Gruyere
For a simple and ultra-creamy baked pasta, take a cue from chef Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Diner: Trade the béchamel for this much easier sauce of heavy cream simmered with plenty of nutmeg and two kinds of cheese.
6 servings · Easy · 35m
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) package gemelli pasta or other short pasta, such as penne or elbow macaroni
- 16 ounces Gruyère cheese, finely shredded (about 4 cups)
- 3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely shredded (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated whole nutmeg
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions until barely al dente, about 10 minutes (about 3 minutes less than package directions indicate).
- Drain and immediately transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet; spread in a single layer. Set pasta aside.
- Toss together Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a medium bowl, and set aside.
- Preheat broiler to high with oven rack in middle of oven.
- Bring heavy cream and salt to a simmer in a large saucepan over high.
- Reduce heat to medium; stir in nutmeg, and simmer, stirring often, 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in 4 1/4 cups of the cheese mixture, in small batches, stirring until cheese is melted after each addition.
- Stir in cooked pasta.
- Spoon pasta mixture into a 2 1/2-quart broiler-proof baking dish; top with remaining 1 cup cheese mixture.
- Broil in preheated oven until cheese is melted and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with thinly sliced prosciutto.
Tags: pepperplate-import