Besciamella "Mac & Cheese"

"Besciamella" is a simple Italian white sauce, made with a roux (butter and flour), cream, salt, and nutmeg. This basic sauce acts as a base for our Mac & Cheese, which uses Taleggio and Provolone for a rich full-flavour bite. We have also added a Toasted Bread Crumb Topping to this recipe, which always adds a nice texture to your dish. We use day old toasted focaccia crumb, but you can use any bread you have handy. Here are the recipes and steps:

Toasted Bread Crumb Ingredients

5g crushed garlic
25g butter
80g bread crumb
60g pecorino romano, fine grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Bread Crumb Method

Melt butter on medium heat in a pan. Toast bread crumbs in butter to a light golden brown. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool. Add pecorino and mix together. Set aside.

Mac & Cheese Ingredients

280g Fresh Creste Di Gallo
30g unsalted butter
30g flour
1 tsp ground nutmeg
5g crushed garlic
60ml white wine
200ml heavy cream
100g taleggio, small cubes,
100g provolone, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mac & Cheese Method


In a medium sized sauce pot, on medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and make a roux, and cook out for 4-5 minutes, continuously stirring. Add garlic, cook for an additional minute. Deglaze the pan with white wine and whisk in cream and nutmeg. Bring cream up to a simmer and slowly, while mixing, add cheeses (leave a handful of cheese aside). Continue to stir until smooth consistency.

Cook your pasta in 5L of salted boiling water. Your Creste Di Gallo should approximately 3 minutes until al dente. Once cooked, add the pasta noodles to the cheese sauce and coat evenly. Add the remainder of your cheese and use a splash of pasta water to adjust thickness if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Finish by topping with bread crumbs.

Your finished plate should be creamy and cheesy. You can easily adapt this into a baked mac & cheese recipe by adding more grated parmesan to the top and baking at 375 C for 5 minutes.