Mac and Cheese with Fontina and Swiss Cheese and panko, toasted with ghee, olive oil, garlic, basil and finished with lemon zest.

This version of ‘no bake’ mac and cheese turned out so delicious I had to share it!  Summer is probably not the best season to share this recipe but honestly, we eat pasta all year round.

I even made it a little lighter using low-fat milk and cheese so we wouldn’t feel so guilty and it would be easier to work off!

This is one of those recipes that takes less than 30 minutes to make and tastes like it has been cooking for longer. A win-win!

You can start by toasting the panko and have it ready infused by the garlic, olive oil and butter flavor – and you can also snack on it while cooking, I do! Then while the pasta is cooking you make the cheesy sauce. 

I think that Bechamel or white sauce was the first recipe my mom taught me. It is very easy, it is a 1 to 1 recipe. 1 tbs of flour + 1 tbs butter + 1 cup of warm milk. For this recipe, I used 2 of each and reduced the amount of milk to 1 1/2 since I was using high melting point cheeses and I didn’t want the sauce to be too thin or runny.

This recipe turned out incredible, the addition of fried panko gives the pasta a little crunch and a deep garlic flavor, without being too strong.

I hope you give this one a try and if you do please let me know. 

Don’t forget to follow along here or here, I would love to see you there!

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Mac and Cheese with fried Panko

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Mac and cheese with Fontina and Swiss Cheese topped with panko toasted with ghee, olive oil, garlic, basil and finished with a sprinkle of lemon zest.

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Ingredients

• For the mac and cheese:
• 2 cups of elbow pasta
• 1 cup of Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 1 cup of Fontina cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 3/4 cup of low-fat Swiss cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 (1.5)cups of 2% fat milk, warm
• 1/2 tsp of grounded mustard seeds - you can also use dijon mustard
• a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp of salt - to taste
• 1/4 tsp of black pepper
• For the toasted panko:
• 1 cup of panko
• 1 tbs tsp of ghee
• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 1 tsp of anchovy​ paste (optional)
• 1 tsp of lemon zest (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbs of fresh basil

Instructions

1. Place olive oil and ghee (or butter) in a medium pan and add the sardines paste. Smash with a wooden spoon to mix with the oil and butter. Add the garlic and lightly infuse the oil mix for a few minutes at medium heat. Add the panko breadcrumbs and increase the temperature to medium high heat. Stir constantly until crunchy and golden brown. Sprinkle the fresh basil and lemon zest. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to package instructions, try to undercook for a minute since you will finish cooking the pasta in the sauce. Drain and save 1/2 cup of the pasta water in case you want to add some to the sauce.
3. Place butter and flour in a medium pan at medium heat. Whisk until mixed and cook for a few minutes, Add the warm milk and whisk until it thickens. Stir in mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add the Fontina, Gruyere, Swiss and Parmesan cheese. Stir until fully melted and incorporated.
4. Add the pasta and stir well to coat with the sauce.

Serve with the toasted panko on top.

Did you make this recipe?

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