Macaroni Mamma Mia
Why the name?
Well, actually because of the Italian love of Mama’s cooking. Many people are
brought up on evocative bowls of heavenly Macaroni Cheese, which were a regular
part of most mothers’ repertoire but always with subtle changes – like the
addition of mushrooms
or bacon or
whatever was to hand. The recipe below is the modern cheats’ version. In
practice this can be made with any kind of shape or make of pasta, but it is part of
my philosophy of cheating and tweaking here and there that the one thing you
need to put some effort into is getting the very best ingredients. Martelli dried pasta is in a different
league from most bog-standard varieties. Add to that Four Cheese Sauce and some
pancetta cubetti,
and what you will then have is a Macaroni Cheese every bit as good as mamma’s.
Serves : 2
Ingredients:
6oz / 175g Martelli
Maccheroni
1 – 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Half a 130g Pack Cubetti (Cubed) Pancetta
˝ Medium or 1 Small Onion,
chopped
small
3oz / 75g Chestnut
Mushrooms, cut in chunks
1 x 150g Ball Mozzarella
Cheese
1 x 300g
Fresh Four Cheese Sauce
1˝ tbsp
Ready-Grated Fresh Parmesan (for sprinkling)
1 Bunch
Small Ripe Tomatoes on the vine
Salt and Freshly
Milled Black Pepper
Instructions:
1.
Pre-heat
the oven to Gas Mark 5 / 375°F / 190°C .
2.
First fill
a large saucepan with 4 pints / 2.25 litres of water, bring it up to a fast
boil, add a teaspoon of salt
then the macaroni and let it boil for exactly 6 minutes.
3.
Meanwhile
heat a tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan,
then add the pancetta
and onion and cook
these for about 2 minutes on a high heat before adding the mushrooms and
cooking for a further 2 minutes.
4.
While
that’s happening, cut the mozzarella into
smallish cubes.
5.
As soon as
the pasta’s ready (it won’t be fully cooked because it’s going to get further
cooking in the oven) tip it first into a colander to drain off the water then
quickly back into the saucepan.
6.
Next add
the contents of the frying-pan to the pasta, followed by the cubes of mozzarella and the
cheese sauce.
7.
Add a good
grinding of black pepper,
stir well then transfer the whole lot to a gratin dish – we used an oval one
measuring 8.5 inches / 22cm x 6.5 inches / 17cm.
8.
Sprinkle
the surface with the Parmesan,
snip the bunch of tomatoes
in half and place them on top.
9.
Finally drizzle the tomatoes with a few
drops of oil,
place the dish on a high shelf of the oven to bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or
until the cheese is golden-brown and the tomatoes cooked
through.
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