Serves 6 to 8
Notes
The cheeses that make this mac and cheese distinctly Italian are gooey Fontina and provola and, of course, grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano to tie it all together. There is a great selection of Italian tubular pastas to choose from, but I like either pipette (little pipes) or gomiti (Italian-style elbows) for this recipe.
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more softened butter for the baking dish
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 pound pipette or gomiti
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces grated mild provola (about 3 cups)
- 12 ounces grated Italian Fontina (about 3 cups)
- ¾ cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Pour the milk into a small saucepan, and warm it over low heat.
2 Add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook only until it’s quite al dente, 3 to 4 minutes shy of the package directions. Drain it in a colander, and rinse it with cold water to cool it off and stop the cooking. Drain it well.
3 Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large Dutch oven. When the butter is melted, sprinkle in the flour, and whisk it to make a smooth paste. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is very lightly toasted and smells nutty, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the hot milk, whisking to remove any lumps as you do it. Season this with 1½ teaspoons salt. Bring it to a simmer, and cook until it’s slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes, stirring well and often so the bottom doesn’t burn. Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in 2½ cups each of the provola and Fontina and ½ cup of the Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, until the cheeses are melted and smooth. Add the cooked pasta, and stir to coat it in the cheese sauce.
4 Transfer everything to the buttered baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the panko and the remaining ½ cup each of provola and Fontina and the remaining ¼ cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano. Sprinkle this evenly over the pasta. Place the baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips that may bubble over. Bake until it’s evenly browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let it rest about 10 minutes before serving.
Excerpted from LIDIA’S THE ART OF PASTA by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2025 by Tutti a Tavola, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
