Mac & Cheese w/ Sage Brown Butter Breadcrumbs

a staple every year at my friendsgiving dinner

To me, a perfect mac and cheese is four things. Cheesy, creamy, spicy (a little!!), and crunchy. You gotta have all four otherwise you end up with something that is bland, lacking texture, and overall not very moreish (a cute little term British people use to describe something that you can’t stop eating).

I use a mixture of four different cheeses- fontina, gouda, cheddar, and extra mature cheddar. If you want a bit of funkiness- go for some gruyere, but I have an aversion to gruyere for some reason I have 0 idea why.

I’m also extra excited about this recipe because I recently learned a new trick from the junior sous chef at my restaurant when it comes to mac and cheese. We’ve been making the staff food together for the past few weeks (which has quickly become one of my favorite parts of the week), and this week we made mac and cheese with chicken wings and cornbread. He was in charge of the mac and cheese (which was insane).

At one point I looked over and saw him infusing some milk with garlic and herbs and was SO confused. When I asked, he said he likes infusing the milk that he uses for the bechamel sauce. Mind. Blown. I think my brain actually short-circuited because it’s such an obvious thing to do but I would have never thought to add another layer of flavor to the mac and cheese like that! This is part of the reason I like working in a restaurant so much. If you open your eyes and ears while working, you get to pick up so much knowledge from people much better and accomplished than you!!! It’s literally my favorite part of working in a restaurant kitchen.

So, without further ado, here is my garlicky mac and cheese with sage brown butter breadcrumbs!

Ingredients:

serves 6 comfortably

1 lb pasta shells (you can use any shape you like)

cheese sauce

40 grams flour

40 grams butter

600 ml whole milk

1/2 head of garlic sliced cross-wise (if you like it really garlicky you can add the whole head)

2-3 sprigs of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary

200 grams of gouda cheese shredded

200 grams of cheddar cheese shredded

200 grams of fontina cheese shredded

100 grams of extra mature cheddar shredded

(please don’t use pre-shredded for any of the cheeses)

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp red pepper flakes or chili powder (I sometimes add more or less depending on preference)

1 tsp onion powder

salt if needed (don’t do this until after the cheese is added as cheese is naturally salty)

breadcrumbs

5 tbsp butter

1 cup of breadcrumbs (you can use fresh breadcrumbs or storebought)

2-3 sage leaves

bunch of parsley chopped finely

salt to taste

Method:

Start by infusing your milk with the garlic and herbs. Take the 600 ml of milk and put it in a pot along with the garlic and herbs. Bring to scalding point which is when the milk starts steaming and tiny bubbles form around the side. Then, take it off the heat and let it infuse in the fridge while you do the next few steps.

Next, make your brown butter for the breadcrumbs. In a pan over medium heat, melt your butter with the sage leaves. You want it to start foaming and turn a nutty brown color. Make sure you keep swirling the pan so it doesn’t burn. The milk solids at the bottom of the pan will turn a light golden brown and it will start smelling a bit like caramel.

When it turns that nice golden brown color, add in your breadcrumbs and stir to combine. I sometimes do this off the heat if I’m nervous the butter will burn.

Once the breadcrumbs and butter are totally mixed, turn the heat up a bit and start toasting the bread. You want to keep it moving so nothing catches and burns. When they’re an even golden brown color, take it off the heat and season with a pinch of salt. Set this to the side.

Preheat your oven to 400 F or 200 C.

Next, move on to making your bechamel cheese sauce. In a deep-rimmed pan or a pot, melt your 40 grams of butter. When melted, add in your 40g of flour and mix to combine. This is called a roux. It’s what thickens sauces like a bechamel. The longer you cook your roux, the runnier your cheese sauce will be. You need to cook the roux out for at least 1-2 minutes to help get some of the raw flour taste out.

After 1-2 minutes, take the roux off the heat and slowly start adding the cold and infused milk. You want the milk and roux to be contrasting temperatures for a smoother and lump-free sauce. Be careful when adding the milk as it will steam a lot.

Add in small increments and whisk thoroughly each time to make sure there are no lumps. It is a lot easier to beat lumps out of a thick mixture than a thin one. When 1/2 the liquid has been added and there are no lumps, add the rest of the milk and put back on the heat.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the bottom doesn’t catch. It should start getting thicker the longer you cook it. Once it’s boiling and thick, let it boil for 2-3 minutes while stirring the whole time. This helps get any raw flour taste out. Now, take it off the heat and slowly add in your grated cheese. Add in handfuls at a time, allowing each addition to melt completely before adding in the next handful.

If the last few handfuls didn’t melt all the way, you can put it on low heat and let the residual heat melt the rest of the cheese. The sauce should be thick and cheesy with no lumps. Add in your seasoning and taste for salt if needed.

If you made the sauce in an oven-safe pan or pot, you can add the boiled pasta straight into the sauce and mix to combine. I boil my pasta for 2 minutes less than the recommended time so it doesn’t go mushy in the oven.

Add your pasta to the sauce and mix thoroughly. Either transfer it to your baking dish or keep it in the oven-safe pot or pan. Grate a thin layer of cheddar over the top of the mac and cheese, and then spread the breadcrumbs all over. You want the entire top to be covered in it.

Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, just until bubbly and the top is golden brown. Take out of the oven, garnish with chopped parsley, and enjoy!