QUATTRO FORMAGGI MAC’N’CHEESE

Grill Americano | 112 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook: The New Classics

Like almost everyone on the planet, I have many fond childhood memories of macaroni and cheese. I always order it if I see it on a menu. Not to critique, but simply to enjoy the nostalgia. At Grill Americano, our objective was to create the very best rendition of this comfort-food classic that we could.

Mac’n’cheese is a simple dish, so each ingredient needs to be well considered and lend something specific in order to make the cut. And of course, the cheese element is absolutely crucial. We start with Taleggio – a personal favourite – for depth of flavour, then go in with scamorza to achieve that obligatory stretch. Pecorino, Parmigiano Reggiano and aged cheddar help round off the creaminess, and the provolone gives a beautiful gratin-like top. And yes, that’s a couple more cheese varieties than the original quattro formaggi name suggests – with a few tweaks along the way, we’ve made a great thing even better.

– Damian Snell, head of culinary at Lucas Restaurants

Serves 6–8

INGREDIENTS
375g dry mezze maniche or mezzi rigatoni (or use any short pasta you like)
75g prosciutto, diced
100g Taleggio, cut into 5cm cubes
25g smoked scamorza, sliced into 5cm strips
250g provolone, thinly sliced into 50g portions

CHEESE SAUCE

285ml thickened cream
125ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock
65g cheddar, grated
50g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, plus extra to serve
50g pecorino, grated
Salt flakes and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste

RECIPE

For the cheese sauce, bring the cream and stock to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10–15 minutes or until reduced by a little more than half.

Whisk in the grated cheese, then remove from the heat. Check the seasoning and consistency – you want it to be the thickness of a bechamel sauce. If it’s too thin, either reduce it or add a little more cheese; if it’s too thick, add a touch more stock.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, then toss with the prosciutto and cheese sauce until well combined.

Transfer to an ovenproof serving dish. Push the pieces of Taleggio and scamorza into the pasta at intervals, spacing them out evenly across the whole dish, then scatter with the provolone.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp on top. Cool briefly before serving with a generous handful of Parmigiano Reggiano scattered on top.

If you’re lucky enough to have access to a wood oven, like we do at Grill Americano, pop it in there and the mac’n’cheese will be done in a couple of minutes.