Cooking with Rania: Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's mac and cheese with a twist! Raina Harris is back in the kitchen with the recipe.
Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- ½ pound Ziti
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 3 slices white sandwich bread – roughly diced
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter – plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 medium sweet onion – diced
- 1 clove garlic – minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Sea salt to taste
- ¾ cup water
- 6 ounces good-quality sliced ham
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cooked the ziti until al dente about 6 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl and toss with ¼ cup of the whole milk.
In another bowl, combine both cheeses. In another bowl, beat ¼ cup of the whole milk with the eggs; fold in the bread and half of the cheese.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the onion, cook until translucent and then add in the garlic. Sprinkle in the flour, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of salt; cook and stir for about 2 minutes. Slowly add in ¾ cup of water and the remaining 1 ½ cups of milk; Bring to a boil, and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk too cool. Whisk in the remaining cheese, then add the pasta and combine well.
Butter in a shallow casserole dish. Add half of the pasta, top with some of the ham and cover with the remaining pasta. Top with the remaining ham, then cover with the bread mixture. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Allow to rest a few minutes before serving.
Serves: 4
