Here’s an interesting recipe based on one from Food & Wine magazine. The original version called for mozzarella cheese, but I wasn’t paying attention to the recipe and used a very sharp cheddar, to an excellent effect.
Whichever cheese you decide to use, the recipe will turn out great.
What you’ll need
- 8 oz. uncooked pasta, preferably cavatappi or something similar
- 2T unsalted butter
- 2T all-purpose flour
- 2T tomato paste
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2t Italian seasoning, plus more for topping
- 0.25 dried and crushed red pepper, plus more for topping
- 2.5 cups whole milk
- 8 oz part-skim mozzarella (make sure not to buy pre-shredded)
- 3 oz (84g) sliced peperoni, half of it chopped and separated from the whole slices
- 2 oz (56g) Parmesan cheese, grated (I used Asiago, which tasted great)
What to do
Begin heating your oven to 425 degrees F. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, or about 7 minutes. Drain and set it aside when done.
Melt the 2T butter in a 10-inch cast-iron frypan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, mix in the flour and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture is lightly browned—about 2 minutes. Whisk in the tomato paste, garlic, Italian seasoning and red pepper until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk until everything is smooth, then begin bringing it to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture, whisking often, before removing it from the heat. Add the cheddar or mozzarella and stir it in, until it’s melted and smooth, before stirring in the cooked pasta.
Add the chopped pepperoni and stir it in until distributed, then evenly top the dish with the shredded Parmesan and peperoni slices. Bake in the oven until the dish is bubbling and the top cheese has browned—about 10 minutes.
Remove it from the oven when it’s done and sprinkle with additional Italian spices, red pepper and Parmesan, to taste.
Leave a Reply