8.12.2012

Monnezzaglia and Cheese


In Naples Italy, pasta was once sold by weight, not in packages. At the end of the day venders were left with broken pieces and small amounts of various shapes. They were all combined and sold as munnezzaglia, dialect for "all garbage".  Wandering through Williams Sonoma one day, I came across a package of monnezzaglia. (I've seen it spelled with both with a "u" and an "o", but "o" is the spelling used on this package, which is imported from Italy, so let's go with that.)


Doesn't it look like a party in a package? I couldn't resist so I made mac and cheese with it, using Ina Garten's recipe for "Grown Up" Three Cheese Mac and Cheese. But I made the crunchy topping with just butter and fresh bread crumbs and sprinkled it generously on top before baking. Ina adds chopped fresh basil to her topping and crisp bacon to the cheese sauce, which I didn't have in the pantry (and forgot to buy), although those two ingredients would certainly add more layers of flavor. 

Three Cheese Mac Monnezzaglia and Cheese
Adapted from Ina Garten, 2007

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil 
Kosher salt 
2 cups monnezzaglia 
1 1/2 cups milk 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated 
3 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated 
2 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled 
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
Pinch nutmeg 
bread crumbs

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the monnezzaglia and cook according to the directions on the package. Remember, slightly undercooked as you're going to bake it. Drain well. 
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, blue cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into 2 individual size gratin dishes. 

Basic bread crumb topping: Place some bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Dump the bread crumbs in a bowl and add
 some melted butter; sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. 

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top. 



Would you like to see a healthier recipe idea I found for monnezzaglia? Check HERE. The fun variety of the pasta shows up better in this recipe as well.


Easy enough to make your own Monnezzaglia:
 try to use one brand of quality artisanal pasta and add bottom of the bag leftovers and broken spaghetti. I bet you were already doing that and didn't realize there was a name for it!

38 comments:

  1. Hi Barbara,

    Oh yum! and I love the look of the assorted pasta, such a great idea.
    Thanks for sharing.

    Have a happy new week
    Hugs
    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think that is pretty cool!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just LOVE that package!!
    Since I am a bit of a misfit:) I could be in that package..
    Ina is perfect to make even the ordinary(not in my eyes..yours) taste extraordinary~

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this look beautiful and really delicious Barbara!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a beautiful package of pasta! Festive and fun is a great way to describe it. I think I'll get a bunch of monnezzaglia as Christmas gifts. I love Ina Garten's mac and cheese recipe. This is a great way to display these beautiful pasta pieces.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a tasty & lovely pasta package! :) Your cheese sauce sounds divine with the 3 different cheeses in them!

    A wonderful & well-flavoured pasta dinner!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a scrumptious dish! I could eat that right now for breakfast. ;-P

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  8. The different pastas in the box look like a painting or better still, a lovely gift. I had no idea they had a name.

    Love the combination of three cheeses. Must be delish!
    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  9. Pasta is such a downfall for me that I'd probably scrape the pieces off the floor, rince them and cook them up. :) Love the combinations of cheeses in this Barbara. I bet it's wonderful. And so colorful.

    ReplyDelete
  10. WOW, the pasta looks sooooooo good, bright and colourful.
    These colours makes me happy :D

    XoXo
    http://abudhabifood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Look at that pasta! How much fun is that? You're right...it's a party in a package!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have used combos of pasta before but getting them done at the same time is always the problem. I guess when they put this batch together they figured it out.

    The package is beautiful, and so is the mac and cheese. One of my favs when the weather cools down!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm going to try this version next time I have a craving for cheese and pasta. The Knight mixes shapes all the time...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gorgeous - and it IS pretty - but how ironic, too, eh? Only in Williams Sonoma would you find a once bottom of the barrel scraps and leftovers elevated to the "new cool".
    :)
    V

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a great-looking box of pasta! And, you put it to great use. Ina's mac and cheese recipes are amazing. Love the mix of cheeses in this one!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've never seen nor heard of the pasta scraps before! What a wonderful way to use that beautiful box of monnezzaglia. I will have to check our WS to see if they carry it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What fun! Love the multi-colored bows, and the touch of blue cheese!

    ReplyDelete
  18. This looks so yummy. In fact, it's got my tummy growling. I need to eat lunch!

    ReplyDelete
  19. It looks so beautiful for "garbage"! I could probably eat mac and cheese every day and though I haven't tried Ina's recipe I can only imagine how delicious and decadent it is!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I was already making my own Monnezzaglia and didn't even know it! This looks absolutely wonderful...

    ReplyDelete
  21. that pasta is so fun! i love how colorful it is. and i can't think of any better way to use it than this amazing mac and cheese, delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  22. You can never go wrong with mac and cheese!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Loving your gourmet mac and cheese - the best :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    ReplyDelete
  24. That is some seriously fun pasta!

    ReplyDelete
  25. It really does make a lovely package. What a great way to elevate mac and cheese!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love Pasta and everything related to it.
    Thanks for sharing.

    Follow each other.

    Izdiher

    ReplyDelete
  27. These multi-coloured and -shaped pasta looks fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  28. That monnezzaglia really does look like a party in package -- so pretty! And perfect with Ina's mac and cheese recipe...mmm... :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. What a fun package of pasta...and I love how you prepared it with all kind of cheeses...creamy and rich.
    Thanks for sharing the recipe and hope you are enjoying your week Barbara :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. This looks incredibly decadent. I think I'd like some right now!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Barbara, my mouth is watering at the sight of that gorgeous pasta dish.
    Forget the low cal versions I'll take mine "fully leaded", please!

    ReplyDelete
  32. that's a whole new level of cheesy pasta

    ReplyDelete
  33. Well from reading the ingredients I can tell you one thing my husband and son would love it! Blue cheese is their favorite and they devour it whenever they find it! This is a great Monnezzaglia and Cheese Barbara!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I just love the colors of the mixed pasta…and it looks luscious mixed with all that cheese! Yum!!

    ReplyDelete
  35. this looks utterly and completely satisfying, barbara. on top of it all, the name of that particular pasta is AMAZING. :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Such cute little pasta! It looks even better after cooked. Slurppp....
    Kristy

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hi Barbara---I apologize for being our of the loop for the past couple of weeks (and now you are on holiday, how nice!)
    nonetheless--your pasta "leftovers" look luscious, and I thank you for the link to my monnezzaglia.
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails