Ascendancy Kitchen · Dinner
Stuffed Baked Macaroni and Cheese
A molten Gruyère center, silky cheese sauce and a crisp roof of Parmesan, thyme and parsley breadcrumbs.
Before You Start
This recipe uses an infusion you provide. Calculate with the strength of that batch before portioning, label the finished dish and keep it out of reach of children and pets.
Use your own infusion
How Strong Will These Be?
Dose per serving depends on your infusion. Choose a Pantry batch or enter the strength manually to calculate an estimate.
Ingredients
What you’ll need
For the macaroni and cheese
For the herb breadcrumbs
Method
Make the macaroni and cheese
Heat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the divided butter.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the macaroni for 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain well.
Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, keeping the roux pale.
Add the warm milk a little at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Continue cooking for 5 to 7 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the cheddar and half of the Gruyère until smooth. Season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Fold the drained macaroni into the cheese sauce. Spoon half into the prepared baking dish, scatter the remaining Gruyère evenly across the center and cover with the remaining macaroni.
Combine the panko, Parmesan, thyme, parsley and truffle oil. Scatter the mixture evenly over the macaroni.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges bubble and the breadcrumb roof is deeply golden.
Rest for 10 minutes before serving so the center settles without losing its molten texture.
Storage
Keep it ready
Cool completely, cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat covered at 325°F until hot, then uncover briefly to restore the breadcrumb crust.