This is, hands down, the best truffle mac and cheese recipe on the planet! This is perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, but is also a fabulous and gourmet side dish any day of the year.
I have never claimed to be a gourmet chef, or an expert on food. But one thing I do claim? Greg and I have thebest truffle mac and cheese recipe. I don’t mean to brag (okay, maybe I do), but nothing I’ve tried out there comes close. We have made this every year since we got married and it is always a hit with our family and friends.
Greg and I went to Smith and Wollensky (which no longer exists… boo) for Houston Restaurant Week years back and ordered some truffle mac and cheese. We obsessed over how good it was and set out to make our own. So we developed our own recipe. It’s a combination of three different ones we found, taking the best. We have best truffle mac and cheese recipe for sure. I think what sets ours apart from other recipes is using cavatappi noodles, the panko breadcrumbs, and the hand-grated aged white cheddar. Obviously, the truffle oil takes this over the top.
Aww! It’s newlywed Meg & Greg with one of our first trial runs of this recipe! Aren’t we precious? To this day, we haven’t changed a thing with this recipe because it’s that good. We have requests for it for every major holiday. It is truly is perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter dinners. It doesn’t disappoint.
And you know it’s about to get good when you start out with butter, onions, rosemary, thyme, basil, half and half, heavy whipping cream, cheddar, truffle oil and wine. Just sayin’. Now let’s just get to the good stuff – the recipe. Just as an FYI, we have made this recipe with both black and white truffle oil and it comes out tasting the same. Only difference is you need to use more white truffle oil to get it to the desired flavor.
Perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, but is also a fabulous and gourmet side dish any day of the year.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb cavatappi pasta (If you cannot find it, you can use any small noodle)
1 and 1/4 sticks of butter
3/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup flour
16 oz. block white aged cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 cup milk (any works with this recipe - we've used skim, 2%, and whole)
1/2 cup half & half
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, thyme and rosemary (1/4 cup total, not of each herb)
cracked black pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup (or more) Japanese panko breadcrumbs
Splash white wine (about 1/4 cup)
If you have black truffle oil: 1 Tbsp and 1 tsp black truffle oil (this is to your preference – start with 1 Tbsp and if that’s enough for you, stop there. Black truffle oil is more expensive and also more intense. I always add more to taste if the mood strikes me.)
If you have white truffle oil: 2-3 Tbsp.
Instructions
Boil cavatappi per package instructions, set aside.
Add butter to pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic until they turn slightly brown. Add the flour and whisk together for 3 minutes to make a blonde roux.
Whisk in the milk, half and half, heavy whipping cream, and a splash of white wine and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent the roux from burning. You may have to keep adding in additional milk if you think it’s looking a little too “flour-y”. Just eyeball it.
Cook until the roux has dissolved completely and you can no longer taste the flour.
Add the fresh herbs, the truffle oil, the cheddar, and half of the parmesan until dissolved.
Season with cracked black pepper (to taste). Incorporate the cooked cavatappi into the sauce.
Put ingredients into a baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs and remaining parmesan cheese on top evenly.
Place under a broiler for a few minutes until top becomes golden brown.
I hope y’all give the best truffle mac and cheese recipe a try for your next family get-together! Or just because. Let’s face it, you don’t need a reason to make truffle mac and cheese.
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A creamy Brie or Camembert creates a lush backdrop for black truffle's earthy depth, while a firm, salty Pecorino is the perfect counterpoint to the milder, subtly sweet summer truffle. Additionally, the nutty, buttery flavor of an aged Gouda works well with the robust profile of white truffles.
The salty cheese balances the sweeter wine, plus Riesling's acidity refreshes your palate… making it so you can eat more mac and cheese. Heart of the Desert's slightly sweet Riesling is a perfect option.
Pound for pound, truffle is one of the most expensive foods you can buy. The reason behind such high costs is the scarcity of the produce, truffles are seasonal, extremely difficult to grow, and take many years to cultivate. They also have a short shelf life.
Truffle cheeses are highly exotic, aromatic cheeses that have been flavoured with fresh truffles, a highly valued fungus with an earthy, intricate flavour and aroma. Most truffle cheeses have shavings of truffles in them, but sometimes they can be flavoured with truffle oil.
What Is the Best Cheese for Mac and Cheese? Sharp cheddar is the overwhelming popular choice, but for extra-creamy results, we think medium cheddar is even better. Other delicious options include Gruyère, smoked Gouda, and Monterey Jack.
An overview of Food Network's mac and cheese roundup reveals that most recipes have one type of cheese in common: sharp Cheddar. Sharp Cheddar —especially the inexpensive, mass-market block you can buy at the supermarket —strikes just the right balance between meltability and flavor.
If you do want to pair with red, go for brighter blends like pinot noir and zinfandel. A simple flavor - Just like with food, avoid pairing truffles with wines that are overly aromatic or have a more complex flavor profile.
Some great pairings include aged cheddar, goat cheese, and Parmesan. - For a sweet and savory pairing, try pairing black truffles with blue cheese or Camembert. The floral, nutty flavor of the truffle works wonderfully with these cheeses to create an incredibly rich, indulgent combination.
So you'll want to lean towards brighter wines, often whites like gewürztraminer, pinot gris or sauvignon blanc, but also reds including pinot noir, syrah, tempranillo, malbec and zinfandel. 2. Older wines nearly always go well with truffles. And white wines can be aged, just not as long as reds.
If you're looking for the perfect wine pairing for mac and cheese will cut through the richness of the cheese, try a dry white wine like Albarińo or white Rioja. Dry whites make for an easy-to-drink pairing that will go down smoothly on even your most indulgent night.
Barbaresco, a red wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, would be a good match for Truffle Pasta. Made from the Nebbiolo grape, Barbaresco is known for its high acidity and tannin content, which can help balance the richness of the dish.
Truffles are a fungus that grows underground at or near the base of trees known as host trees, but not all trees are suitable places for truffles to grow. Typically host trees include poplar, beech, and oak trees. Truffle fungi grow worldwide in many different varieties.
Truffle pasta is an elegant Italian dish made with long strands of pasta and a creamy truffle sauce. There are many different ways to make truffle pasta. Some people use truffle butter or truffle cheese, and some even use real (and expensive) truffles.
Truffles are known for their earthy, umami-rich flavor and heady, musky aroma. Their flavor is sometimes compared to mushrooms, although truffles are more intense and complex in taste and far more fragrant. The exact profile varies by variety, season and quality, incorporating nutty, garlicky or floral notes.
Delicious, high-quality truffle oil comes in many forms. It's usually made by infusing extra virgin olive oil and either real truffles or a chemical alternative to create the flavor and essence.
Introduction: My name is Jeremiah Abshire, I am a outstanding, kind, clever, hilarious, curious, hilarious, outstanding person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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