Eye for a Recipe

This recipe from Food and Wine is another great baked pasta dish. Cook the pasta and set aside. Simmer cream and salt and add cheese to create a sauce. Combine pasta and sauce and broil until browned. Serve with thinly sliced prosciutto. Cook’s note: I don’t like nutmeg in the sauce; I used hot pepper flakes instead.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure the cheese does not contain colour or other additives. Check the nutmeg to make sure it doesn’t have preservatives or anti-caking agents. Look for prosciutto that is preserved with salt only.

Ingredients:

1 (16-ounce/454 g) package gemelli pasta or other short pasta, such as penne or elbow macaroni

16 ounces (454 g) Gruyère cheese, finely shredded (about 4 cups/1 L)

3 ounces (85 g) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely shredded (about 1 ¼ cups/310 ml)

3 cups (750 ml) heavy cream

1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) kosher salt

1 teaspoon (5 ml) freshly grated whole nutmeg

Thinly sliced prosciutto, for serving

Preparation:

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 ¼ cups (1.06 L) 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 ½ -quart (2.5 L) broiler-proof baking dish; top with remaining 1 cup (250 ml) 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. Serves 6.

From Food and Wine