![[Capital Wines]](/images/cw_logo.jpg){kind=logo}
The May 2010 Gourmet Traveller magazine is the Italian issue. For those of you who know me, you will know that I love everything Italian. The cool autumn weather lends itself to some serious comfort food and so I decided to create a very wicked version of macaroni and cheese from the latest Gourmet
If you have a cholesterol problem, I would probably stay away from this dish. It is seriously decadent. If you are a cheese lover, like me, then this dish will comfort the heart.
I chose slightly larger pasta for the dish. I used mostaccioli, which I boiled in salted water and then refreshed under cold running water.
The next step was to finely dice the garlic, onion and pancetta and soften in a pan with some butter.
The Gourmet Traveller recipe uses four types of cheese. Taleggio, Fontina, Pecorino and Parmesan. You need to crumble the taleggio & fontina and grate the pecorino and parmesan. I also used a little fresh pecorino in the recipe. If you are making this recipe make sure you use the real Parmigiano-Reggiano from a good delicatessen.
The pancetta mixture, cheese, pasta and some cream are mixed together and then placed in a baking dish and topped with fresh breadcrumbs and more parmesan.
When it comes to wine, several Italian reds are up in my top five favourites. A big Chianti (sangiovese) Super Tuscan (often blends of sangiovese and classic varietals such as cabernet sauvignon or shiraz) or even better a Barolo (nebbiolo) would be great with this dish. The rich cheesy protein needs some tannin to hang onto. Nebbiolo is one grape I would love to be planting here in the Canberra Region. In June we will be releasing our sangiovese. This exciting wine has been made from fruit from three clones of Sangiovese, including two Brunello di Montalcino clones.
However, I actually enjoyed this dish with a chilled glass of our beautiful refreshing chardonnay. ‘The Senator’ Chardonnay 2009 has lovely lemon acidity that was a nice balance to the richness of the dish. The subtle oak picked up the hint of pancetta.
If you love cheese, you should pick up the magazine and make this dish. This is wicked comfort food at its best.
This article has 2 comments.
“I can't wait for the sangiovese to be released Yum!
-- Pauline (May 9, 2010) ”