Ingredients

The following ingredients have 9 Servings
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Pinch of saffron* (optional)
  • 4 ounces (about 1 cup) pancetta, diced
  • 3/4 pound elbow macaroni
  • 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) Wisconsin Parmesan Cheese, grated
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 cup Wisconsin Fresh Mozzarella, cubed

Instruction

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour, whisking constantly for about a minute. Add milk and water, whisking to remove any of flour-butter mixture from bottom of pan. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer. Add salt, pepper and pinch of saffron. Simmer until mixture begins to barely thicken — it will lightly gloss the back of a wooden spoon — about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
  • Meanwhile, in medium frying pan, crisp pancetta over medium heat until fat is rendered and nicely browned. In 9x13x2-inch baking dish, toss macaroni (there is no need to cook the macaroni in this recipe) with Parmesan Cheese. Transfer pancetta to baking dish using slotted spoon; toss gently to combine. Add remaining 3 tablespoons of butter to pan with rendered pancetta fat and melt over low heat. Add panko to medium bowl; pour butter over top; mix to combine. Stir in parsley; season with salt.
  • Pour prepared saffron sauce over macaroni mixture — it will feel like an inordinate amount of liquid for the amount of pasta, but it will all get soaked up during baking. It is not necessary to stir mixture. Cover pan with foil and carefully transfer to oven. Bake 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and gently stir. Scatter cubes of Fresh Mozzarella evenly across the mixture. Top with panko bread crumb mixture. Bake additional 15 – 20 minutes, or until top is golden and the macaroni is bubbling. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.