Recipe: Truffled Mac and Cheese with Prosciutto

baked mac and cheese with truffle oil and prosciutto

mac and cheese with prosciutto and truffle oil

Let the record show that the extreme lack of any type of food styling in these photos is indicative of two things. One, this is literally how they looked when they came out of the oven, so consider this a mix of “keeping it real” and “I was hungry” (hello, it was Super Bowl Sunday!). Two, I had taken a little bite out of one of the dishes to check for seasoning, and it was SO good, I had zero interest in prettying this up. Nay, this baked mac and cheese required immediate consumption.

Surprisingly, it had been a few years since I’d whipped up mac and cheese (blog name’s not withstanding). Sunday’s big game seemed like the perfect excuse; plus, I recently found these gratin dishes on sale, and have been using them as an excuse to make delicious, cheesy, baked things in the oven. This version of mac and cheese is no exception — it uses a three cheese sauce, chopped bits of salty prosciutto, and an herbed breadcrumb topping. But what makes it extra special is the use of white truffle oil. Divine!

Fancy as it seems, if you’ve made a white sauce before, this dish is a cinch to put together — and even if you haven’t, it’s easier than you think. This recipe could be perfect if you want to cook a little sumthin sumthin for your special someone on February 14. Just add Champagne, a simple green salad, and you’ve got a dinner to remember! Here’s how I made it:

baked mac and cheese with truffle oil, prosciutto and herbed breadcrumbs

Baked and Truffled Mac and Cheese with Prosciutto and Herbed Breadcrumbs
Serves 4 as a main dish

4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
— pinch of ground nutmeg (if you don’t have it, you can skip)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
— kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups freshly grated gruyere (about 8 oz)
1 cup freshly grated white cheddar (about 4 oz)
1 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano (about 4 oz — can also substitute grana padano or asiago)
1 lb (box) pasta — penne rigate, rigatoni, orecchiete, whatever you want!
3 oz prosciutto, diced

For the breadcrumb topping:
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white truffle oil

— extra truffle oil for drizzling

Preheat your oven to 375º. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cover.

In a separate large pot, melt the butter over medium to medium high heat. Once melted, add in the flour, and whisk gently to combine (this is called a roux — it thickens the sauce). Cook for 2-3 minutes, until it has the consistency of thick, wet sand and it smells toasty. This will remove the raw, floury taste. Pour in half the milk and whisk to distribute the roux and be sure it’s not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Pour in the remainder of the milk and bring to a low simmer. The roux will not reach it’s full thickening power until the liquid simmers or boils. Sprinkle in the nutmeg, garlic powder, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat of the sauce to low. Add in all the grated cheese, and stir with a spoon to combine. Taste the sauce (it should taste amazing) and check for seasoning. Keep in mind you don’t want it too salty, since the prosciutto is salty as well!

With the water in the separate pot boiling, add in the pasta and cook to al dente — usually a minute or two less than the package directions. While the pasta cooks, prepare the breadcrumbs: in a bowl, combine all the breadcrumb topping ingredients, and toss to combine and evenly distribute the oils.

Once cooked, drain the pasta in a colander, then transfer all the pasta directly into the cheese sauce. Gently fold to combine, and remove from heat. Fold in the diced prosciutto.

If you are using gratin dishes, drizzle a little bit of the truffle oil into the bottom of each one; this way, as you scoop the mac and cheese out, each bite will get a little truffle oil on it. If you don’t have gratin dishes, you can bake the entire thing in a single casserole/baking dish, and serve the mac and cheese family style. Drizzle some truffle oil in the base of this dish.

Transfer the mac and cheese mixture to individual gratin dishes, or into the baking dish, on top of the truffle oil. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the top of the mac and cheese. I recommend placing the baking dishes on a baking sheet to catch any spills in the oven!

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the mac and cheese is bubbly and golden (I did it for 20 minutes on Super Bowl Sunday and wished it was browner, but got hungry!). If you want the top extra crispy and browned, finish the dish under the broiler for about a minute — be sure to keep an eye on it, as it can burn quickly!

Serve with a light mixed green salad and enjoy!

Images by Victoria McGinley for vmac+cheese

22 Comments

  1. 2.4.14
    Chelsea said:

    This looks absolutely incredible!

  2. 2.4.14
    jillian said:

    this sounds SOOO tasty! xo jillian – cornflake dreams

  3. 2.4.14
    Abby said:

    OH my goodness!! This looks so yummy! I’m having “girls night” at my house and might have to make this for everyone!

  4. 2.4.14

    your picture of this instagram and am so excited you provided a recipe. truffles make EVERYTHING better :)

    Molly {Dreams in HD}
    http://dreamsinhd.blogspot.com

  5. 2.4.14

    That looks amazing! Who doesn’t love mac and cheese? And it’s really so much better with bacon or proscuitto. I love this recipe and can’t wait to try it! I’ve never cooked with truffle oil before so I think this would be a fun thing to try.

  6. 2.4.14
    Clara said:

    Oh. Just. Stooooop!

  7. 2.4.14
    Katie said:

    Yum! I’m thinking about making a pasta dish for Valentine’s Day too. I think warm, comforting dishes are a great way to show how much you care about someone.

  8. 2.4.14

    I’m so excited you posted this. Your photo of it Sunday looked like heaven!

  9. 2.5.14
    dana said:

    this looks DELICIOUS!!!

    http://www.thecasualclassic.com

  10. 2.5.14
    viv said:

    I’m so making this recipe this very weekend and stuffing my face :)
    http://www.fashiontruffles.com

  11. 2.5.14

    This sounds perfect right about now!

  12. 2.11.14
    Lillian said:

    This looks amazing – what size gratin dishes are you using?

    • 2.11.14
      Victoria McGinley said:

      They are 12oz gratins that are 7″ in diameter!

  13. 11.26.14
    Erika K said:

    This mac and cheese is so good, it’s evil. I’m planning to make it again and wondering if it would be okay to prep and assemble, refrigerate overnight, and bake the next day. I don’t see why not. Thoughts?

  14. 2.13.15
    Maura said:

    Would it be ok to substitute bacon? if so should I put it in the casserole uncooked or cook it before I add it?

    • 2.13.15

      Hey Maura! Sure, bacon is fine to substitute! Cook it before hand, and dice/chop, then fold it in as if it’s the prosciutto.

  15. 12.24.15
    Cynful said:

    OMG, just made this dish for Christmas Eve dinner. Delish!!!!! Tasted before we even put it in the oven. Heaven on Earth Mac & Cheese, is the name we came up for this incredible dish. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it’s a keeper.

    • 12.27.15

      Awesome! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed it so much!! :) Happy Holidays!

Comments are closed.