This is a mix and match recipe. It’s an odd couple strangely complementing each other. The taste is bewilderingly sensual. It includes an everyday condiment commonly used as a dipping sauce for school kids’ fries mixed with the world’s most sought after ingredient, in which only a pig’s nose will find. It’s a mac and cheese recipe made with wickedly sharp white cheddar cheese bechamel sauce and FungusAmongUs’ truffle mustard.
Of course, truffles in mac and cheese is not a new dish–people swoon over the combination (A brief mention of truffles in any recipe makes everyone excited). Then there’s the idea of adding mustard to mac and cheese which is quite common. After conducting an internet search for “mustard and cheddar cheese recipes,” the results yielded infinite amounts of kitschy-type of recipes. I figured, why not add FungusAmongUs’ Truffle Mustard to a creamy cheddar cheese bechamel sauce. All those flavors incredibly harmonized into a decadently delicious pasta dish.
As mentioned in a previous recipe using FungusAmongUs Chanterelle mushrooms in Rustic Kale and Chanterelle Pie with Parmesan Cream Sauce, I had a difficult time developing a recipe using truffles because of fear of making a mistake. The final decision resulted in truffle mustard being one of my choices. Once the fear of making a mistake was eliminated, developing a recipe became an easier process.
Tell Me: What would you do with a free jar of Truffle Mustard? Would it be simple? Does it involve a crazy mix of ingredients? Is it kitschy or gourmet? Your answer could be one of two winners each receiving a FREE jar of FungusAmongUs’ Truffle Mustard. To be considered, share your recipe idea in the comment section below, ‘LIKE’ FungusAmongUs’ Facebook page and visit FungusAmongUs.com. Read details below to learn more.
+++CONTEST IS CLOSED+++
Details:
+ Contest starts today, April 6, 2013 and ends April 19, 2013 at 11:59 a.m. EST.
+ Contest open to residents of the continental United States. Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. foreign territories are excluded.
+ Two random winners will each receive one 3.17 oz. jar of FungusAmongUs Truffle Mustard. No additional purchase or shipping expenses are necessary. Prize cannot be exchanged.
+ Must provide an email used only to notify the winner. Upon notification, winner must provide mailing address.
Truffle Mustard Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups organic, whole milk
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 lb. penne or elbow pasta; cooked al dente according to the manufacturer’s directions, rinse with cold water and drain, drizzle with olive oil*
- 1/2 stick (4 tbsp.) butter
- 3 tbsp. flour
- Salt and fresh black pepper; to taste
- 3.15 oz. truffle mustard
- 8 to 10 oz. mildly sharp, white cheddar cheese; grated
- 8 oz. gouda parrano cheese; grated
- 4 oz. piave cheese; grated
- Garnish: Finely chopped walnuts or bread crumbs
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a baking dish with olive oil or butter.
- Place milk and bay leaves in a small pot. Before the milk boils, turn heat off. Cover and place milk aside. Mix all the grated cheeses together and place aside.
- To make a white bechamel sauce: In a medium size saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until it’s foamy. Whisk in the flour. After a few minutes, the mixture will brown. Whisk in a quarter cup of the warm milk that was placed aside in step 2 (Discard the bay leaves). The mixture will be slightly lumpy, but continue whisking until smooth. As more milk is added, the mixture will become less lumpy and smooth out. Continue adding more milk by a quarter cup. Whisk the mixture the whole time. Even when all of the milk is added to the sauce (the sauce will seem a little thin), continue whisking until the mixture thickens and smooth. Don’t let it boil.
- Whisk in a little more than 1/2 the amount of the grated cheeses. Continue whisking until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Mix in the truffle mustard.
- Toss in the pasta in the bechamel sauce. Mix in the rest of the cheese, but place aside ¼ cup of the cheese for garnish).
- Place Macaroni and Cheese mixture in the buttered baking dish (see step 1).
- Top with the reserved 1/4 cup of the grated cheeses. If desired, garnish with bread crumbs or finely chopped nuts.
- Place in the oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Let cool slightly and enjoy.
Notes
*If a saucier mac and cheese is preferred or using wheat pasta, use about 10 oz of pasta.
Artichokes are in season and a bit of truffle mustard mixed into some mayo and a steamed artichoke sounds like absolute heaven right now. Not quite a recipe but simple and PERFECT.
I’d use it on a gourmet hot dog
That mac-n-cheese recipe looks stellar! As for the truffle mustard, I’d use it as a way to twist my friend’s arm into FINALLY giving me this incredible orange, poppy-seed, mustard, and apricot chicken salad recipe she made for me once. Perhaps with a good enough reason, she’ll give up the secret!
Wow! These ideas sound really great! In all honestly, the first thing that popped into my mind is both a little Kitschy and Gourmet. Maybe just simply grilled asparagus with a mustard and shallot dressing. Maybe turned in to a salad, maybe a tart. I’m sorta hoping Spring will land and stick soon!
My grandmother use to make a dish that even those who thought they didn’t like turnips would have their mind changed by this dish! The turnips were cooked as if they were roasted potatoes….cut into bite size wedges and coated with butter, mustard,dill [or thyme] and salt and pepper[i prefer cayenne]. Fabulous…even children will ask for seconds.
It might be a bit on the simple side, but I think the best place for something like this would be on a very basic sandwich, preferably with a game meat. Roast Elk or something like that, hold any and all other sauces, maybe not even tomatoes or anything, just some field greens on a soft roll.
I would smear it directly onto my face. But after that I’d try it in my French tomato tart recipe. It usually calls for a spread of Dijon at the base of crust.
There’s a rabbit recipe I’ve done a couple of times – coated in mustard and then panko and baked. This would be PERFECT for that. Mm!