Pasta Queen's 400 Year Old Pasta Bake

 

Pasta Queen's Pasta Bake

If you love golden crispy-topped Mac and Cheese, you'll die for this. Can't rave about this one enough. It is the ultimate fix for a night you want something cheesy, creamy & comforting. This is one of the Pasta Queen’s all time greats! You can find the béchamel sauce on her YouTube channel and the pasta bake on her Instagram. Link in profile for the recipe notes. Enjoy! :))

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Ziti
• 1 1/2 cup of Fontina Cheese (cubed)
• 1 cup of Parmesan (freshly grated!)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter

Béchamel Sauce:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 4 cups of milk (warm)
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 1/3 tsp. of nutmeg

Instructions: 

1. Set the oven to 380°F. Cook Ziti in pot of boiling water with 1 tbsp of salt
2. Start the Béchamel sauce by heating up a 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter in a sauce Pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth. Slowly pour in the warm milk and mix in the salt and nutmeg. 
3. Crank up the heat to high and whisk quickly for a few minutes (it’ll still look thin). Then leave the sauce on high heat for about 3 minutes without mixing and observe it bubble slowly. At this point it begins to thicken and become a creamy sauce consistency. Stir some, leave it again for a minute or two to thicken. Stir and repeat for about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat
4. Once Ziti is done cooking, drain and pour into an oven safe pot. Pour in the  thickened Béchamel sauce and mix.
5. Cover the pasta mixture with a half cup of Parmesan and 1 1/2 cup of cubed fontina cheese. Then mix it all together. Add more Parmesan cheese on top with a few scrunches of pepper. Finish off by adding 1 tbsp of butter in each corner of the dish. 
6. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes and done!