Macaroni And Cheese

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons rice flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 small shallot, peeled and left whole
• 1 small bay leaf
• fresh ground pepper
• 8 ounces macaroni
• 3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese or 3 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1 teaspoon sweet hungarian paprika
• 3 1/2 ounces aged gouda cheese or 3 1/2 ounces monterey jack cheese, grated
• coarse salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 450°f.
• 2 lightly grease a 2-quart ovenproof dish with the butter and set aside.
• 3 to make the rice cream, rinse a small saucepan with cold water.
• 4 add the rice flour.
• 5 with a whisk, gradually beat in enough milk to make a thick paste, then continue whisking in the remaining milk until well blended.
• 6 add the salt, shallot, bay leaf and pepper to taste.
• 7 bring to a boil over very low heat, whisking occasionally.
• 8 simmer 10 minutes or until the mixture has the consistency of thick cream, strain through a fine sieve into a bowl and set aside.
• 9 bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt well.
• 10 add the macaroni and cook until almost tender but still quite firm to the bite.
• 11 drain well and return to the pot.
• 12 stir in the rice cream, cheddar cheese, paprika and all but 2 tbsp of the dry jack cheese, add salt and pepper to taste.
• 13 pour the macaroni into the casserole.
• 14 sprinkle the top with the remaining jack cheese.
• 15 bake for 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.