Don’t hate me for this, but it is just so good you have to go through all the work and the calories to make this dish. It is that yummy…you just can’t eat anything for the rest of the week. Courtesy of Rachel Ray…
Recipe:
1 pound macaroni
1 1/2 pounds uncooked sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 cups caramelized onions (see recipe below)
1 quart whole milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons flour
3/4 pound aged Gouda cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 350º. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 11 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a large bowl and wipe the saucepan clean. Add the pasta and 1 cup caramelized onions to the sausage and stir to combine.
In a medium saucepan or a microwave oven, heat the milk until steaming. Return the large saucepan to the stove, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk, 1/4 cup at a time, and continue whisking until the sauce is smooth and thick and comes to a simmer. Add 2 1/2 cups cheese, remove from the heat and whisk until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cheese sauce to the pasta mixture and stir to combine.
Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and add the pasta mixture in an even layer. Or just use the oven-safe pan you boiled the noodles in, since at this point I think you have dirtied enough dishes. 😉 Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup caramelized onions and 1 1/2 cups cheese on top. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Carmelized Onions
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
In a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan frequently, until the onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes.
4(FOUR)cups of gounda! Yep, I’m full.
Ha, I know Melody! I should probably note that I didn’t use that much gouda…probably about 2.5 cups and I used turkey sausage.
Gouda! I have just found a way to make mac and cheese better…
Thanks for sharing!
Sounds delicious! I’ve made something similar but skipped the carmelized onion part. I’ll have to try that.
wow….that sounds so good. i bet i could use soy sausage or leave the sausage out… caramelized onions….mmm…
Oh my word. Drool.
MMMMM this sound so yummy!!!!
🙂
Gotta love Rachael. Gouda! I’ve gotta try this one!
Glad you all are going to try it. I’m not kidding…this is seriously good!
[…] were going to come so I didn’t have a plan. I just threw this together, loosely based on this yummy dish by Rachel Ray. This only took about a half hour and everyone went back for seconds. Even Vern who eats like a […]
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