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Chef Antonio Romano

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

The Ultimate Mac 'n' Cheese

Chef Antonio Romano won the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award for Italy and South East Europe Region.

16 November, 2020
Average: 3.5 (47 votes)

Cuisine

serves for

6

total time

0 HR 40 MIN

ingredients

Butter
60 g
All purpose flour
60 g
Buttermilk farmhouse
75 g
Gorgonzola cheese D.O.P.
150 g
Taleggio cheese D.O.P.
150 g
Parmigiano Reggiano 36 months
210 g
Hazelnut flour
to taste
Macaroni pasta
500 g, or other short pasta
Salt
Fresh Italian black summer truffle
50 g
Black pepper
Chives
50 g
Piedmont hazelnut I.G.P.
20 g

Antonio Romano shares his recipe for the ultimate comfort food dish: macaroni and cheese. He chose the popular dish, not only because of its history and global notoriety, but also because he feels it has lost some of its personality in recent years.

Romano wants to give some value back to the dish, taking care and pride in selecting quality ingredients, like the all-important Italian cheeses he's chosen to pump up the flavour. Overall, it's a departure from the all-too-familiar bland and commercialised mac 'n' cheese ready meal.

The chef asks us to stop and think for a second, and re-evaluate our relationship with readily available junk food. He encourages us to dedicate a moment or two to eating healthily: "30 seconds of your time to remember to make eco-sustainable choices."

Join Romano in making his ultimate mac 'n’ cheese, full of flavour and personality, in the recipe below.

Step 01

thermomix butter and flour

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

Preheat the oven to160°.

In a thermomix jug, drop the butter, the buttermilk and flour, and cook for 20 min at 90° on speed 2. 

Chef tips: if you don’t have a thermomix, make a roux with butter and flour, add the buttermilk and the cheese, and cook until thick.

Step 02

Thermomix taleggio gorgonzola

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

Add salt and pepper.

Add in the thermomix the chopped taleggio, gorgonzola and parmigiano, and blitz for 15 sec on speed 8.

Sauce should be nice and thick. 

Step 03

Cooking pasta

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

In the meantime, cook the pasta in boiling and salted water. 

Step 04

cooked pasta

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

The pasta must be al dente. Drizzle pasta with olive oil and stir to coat it. Set aside to cool. 

Step 05

pasta mixed cheese

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

Combine the cheese sauce and pasta. 

Step 06

truffle and maccheroni cheese

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

Add chopped chives to the mix, and 40 gr of the truffle, chopped, into brunoise butter and flour.

 

Step 07

Baking maccheroni in oven

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

Fill the mould with some cheese sauce and hazelnut flour and bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 min.

Take out of the oven, put the hazelnuts on top and the extra grated parmigiano, and cook for 10 more minutes. 

Step 08

Serving the dish

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

Grate the rest of the truffle on top. 

Step 09

The ultimate mac n cheese Antonio Romano

Photo courtesy of Chef Antonio Romano

The ultimate mac 'n' cheese is ready to be served. 

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