Give Your Mac And Cheese An Italian Twist

Shhh! Don't tell the good folks who make Kraft mac and cheese, but this quintessential American food ain't so American after all. As it turns out, the first written mac and cheese recipe came out of Italy in the 13th century. It seems only fitting, then, that there should be a recipe for the dish that returns it to its Mediterranean roots. Fortunately, there is one. Enter mac and cheese made with mozzarella cheese and pesto sauce. 

Mozzarella cheese — the stringy goodness that makes your favorite Italian pizza so much fun to eat — brings that same joyous spirit and flavor to this mac and cheese recipe. If you're into baked mac and cheese, mozzarella becomes even more delicious because it'll turn brown and crispy, thanks to the Maillard reaction. A few crumbles of cheesy bread crumbs turn it into a recipe that even the ancients would appreciate.

As for the pesto, it lends the fresh flavor of basil — an herb that's not only found on pizza, but also on Italian appetizers like a mozzarella and tomato caprese, or a good bruschetta with crusty ciabatta bread. In other words, it's hard to find an herb that's more Italian, with the possible exception of garlic or oregano. When added to your mac and cheese, the dish trades some of its "American-ness" for a decidedly Italian vibe.

Although there have been dishes that featured pasta and cheese in Italy since at least 160 B.C.E., it's the "Liber de Coquina" (or "Book of Cooking") where the first written recipe for macaroni and cheese was found. That version of the dish featured square-shaped pasta smothered with grated cheese. The cheese in question was likely another popular Italian cheese: Parmesan. 

This basic recipe also provides inspiration for mac and cheese with a more Italian flair. For example, if you just want to make the pesto mac and cheese even cheesier, some grated Parmesan on top of the pasta infuses it with the smoky umami flavor that makes the hard cheese famous. Like mozzarella, Parmesan browns in the oven, so it's perfect for baked mac. Otherwise, it's totally acceptable to just grate some Parmesan on top of the dish before you serve it.

As for the square-shaped pasta, you have a couple of options here. Ravioli immersed in mounds of bubbling mozzarella cheese would be quite the flavor bomb. The other option you have is to use a taccole pasta which happens to be a type of square pasta that Giada De Laurentiis uses for crispy lasagna. If you opt for this pasta, go with the baked mac and cheese recipe. Taccole pasta looks like miniature lasagna noodles. While there's no rule that says you can't use these for a stove top mac, a baked mac and cheese recipe using these noodles would be a feast for both the eyes and the taste buds.