Stretchy Mac and Cheese Recipe

Photo: Tyler Florence

From Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week: Inside the Test Kitchen: 120 New Recipes, Perfected (Clarkson Potter)

Stretchy Mac and Cheese
Serves 6

Our goal here was to have a cheesy, stretchy macaroni and cheese that we could also make without a long baking time. We used Muenster, since it won our cheese stretch test. But after testing multiple versions, we learned that to make a really stretchy, cheesy mac and cheese, you want to fold cubes of cheese into the pasta—instead of grating the cheese into the sauce—then flash-broil it just to melt the cheese and crisp the breadcrumbs. This is the most satisfying mac and cheese any of us have had in a long time. 

1?4 cup (1?2 stick) unsalted butter
1?4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
2 garlic cloves, smashed
5 thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
1 pound dry pasta, such as elbow macaroni
2 teaspoons salt
1?2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound Muenster, cut into 1?2-inch cubes (or Gouda or jack)
1?3 cup panko breadcrumbs
Smoked olive oil or extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Preheat the oven to broil and set a large pasta pot of heavily salted water over high heat to come to a boil.

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour to make a roux, stirring well so that it cooks evenly and turns golden blond. Whisk in the cream and milk a little bit at a time, so there are no lumps. Add the garlic, along with the whole sprigs of thyme and the bay leaves. Stir to make a béchamel.

Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom of the pot from scorching, until it thickens, about 10 minutes. Season the béchamel with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to the package directions. Drain.

Mix the béchamel with the cooked pasta. Immediately add the cheese and mix well, so that the heat and motion melt and stretch the cheese. Transfer to a baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs. Broil on a lower rack of the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the chives.

More mac and cheese recipes:
No-Boil, One-Pot Mac and Cheese
Stovetop Mac and Cheese
Make Macaroni and Cheese Without a Recipe

What’s your trick for getting perfectly stretchy cheese?