Macaroni and Cheese with Prosciutto (Baked)

macaronicheeseproscuitto Baked mac and cheese is a delicious treat whether you're a kid or an adult and this scrumptious version comes complete with a three-cheese sauce, crispy prosciutto and a few other tasty ingredients to make it extra special.

Cheese Sauce:
4 cups milk
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 Tbsp. chicken base
2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
1½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. white pepper, freshly ground
1 pinch ground nutmeg
6 Tbsp. butter
9 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
1½ cups extra sharp white cheddar, freshly grated
1½ cups jalapeno jack cheese, freshly grated
1½ cup Gruyère cheese, freshly grated
1½ tsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Assembly:
14 oz elbow macaroni
3 oz sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), julienned
8 oz sliced prosciutto, crisped and chopped, divided
¼ cup sharp white cheddar cheese, freshly grated
¼ cup jalapeno jack cheese, freshly grated
¼ cup Gruyère cheese, freshly grated
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1½ Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
¼ tsp. sea salt

Garnish:
3 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped

Make the Cheese Sauce:
Add the milk, half-and-half, chicken base, garlic, salt, white pepper and nutmeg into a medium-sized pot and place over medium heat; bring the mixture to a good simmer, whisk to blend so that all ingredients are well combined. Turn off the heat; keep warm.

Place a large (preferably non-stick) pot over medium-low heat and add the butter in; once melted, add in the flour and stir to combine to form the “roux” or thickener for the sauce, allow it to cook for about 1 minute.

Next, slowly pour the hot milk/half and half mixture into the roux, whisking the whole time to avoid lumps from forming; allow the mixture to come to the simmer for about 2-3 minutes, whisking occasionally, to allow the sauce to thicken and tighten up a bit.

Once thickened, turn the heat off and add the grated cheeses into the cream sauce one at a time, whisking very well to blend in between each addition of cheese.

Whisk in the lemon juice until smooth and blended, cover and keep warm.

Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Lightly butter a large casserole baking dish.

Cook the elbow macaroni according to package instructions and drain well.

Assembly:
Add the cooked elbow macaroni directly into the cheese sauce, along with the sun-dried tomatoes and gently stir to combine well; pour about half of the mac and cheese mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle over about half of the chopped, crispy prosciutto.

Pour the remainder of the mac and cheese mixture into the casserole dish and sprinkle over the top the ¼ cups each of the white cheddar, jalapeno jack and Gruyere cheeses, mixing them a bit.

Combine the panko breadcrumbs with the olive oil, Italian seasoning, black pepper and salt and sprinkle that mixture evenly over top of the mac and cheese to create a topping.

Place the uncovered casserole/baking dish into the oven to bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and gooey, and the breadcrumb topping is golden and crispy (if the breadcrumb topping needs additional browning, just turn the broiler on low, and allow it to crisp up a bit more for a moment or two, but don't walk away from it).

To finish the mac and cheese, sprinkle the remainder of the chopped, crispy prosciutto over the top, as well as the chopped fresh chives, and serve immediately while hot.

Makes 8 servings.

Cook's Notes:

Choose Your Pasta: Classic elbow macaroni pasta is perfect for this recipe, but you can use your favourite kind of pasta.
Getting Cheesy: My choice of cheeses are sharp white cheddar, jalapeno jack and gruyere; and I choose those because they have lots of flavour and are wonderfully meltable. You can also sub whole milk mozzarella, or another of your favourite highly meltable cheeses, if you prefer.
Crisping Prosciutto: To prepare, simply add slices to a hot pan for a couple of minutes until crispy, both sides, as you would bacon. When done, blot with a paper towel and chop. (Feel free to substitute bacon, or even leave it out altogether if you'd like to make this a vegetarian version.)
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: The slightly sweet-savoury and tangy flavour of some julienned sun-dried tomatoes offers a bit of an interesting flavour pairing when it comes to the creamy sauce; but if you're not a fan, simply leave them out.
Make-Ahead: If I'm looking to streamline things for myself and make the process a little quicker on the day I plan on baking and serving this recipe, I prep the sauce, cook the noodles and prep as many of the other ingredients as I can a day or two ahead of time. Then, I simply reheat the sauce and warm the noodles, put it all together and bake.
Reheating Leftovers: I've found that the best way to reheat leftovers, to get as much of that creaminess back as possible, is to either microwave a portion in a bowl, covered with a small plate (to keep the steam in); or, reheat in a glass container covered with foil in a toaster oven set to 375-400°F for about 20 minutes.