Ziti con Quattro Formaggio -- Ziti with Four Cheeses

by djplam

Servings:

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ziti
5 tablespoons butter, unsalted
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
½ cup diced Fontina cheese
½ cup diced fresh Mozzarella cheese
½ diced Asiago cheese
½ grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup heavy cream
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Toast the breadcrumbs by heating 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small saute pan. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Place in a small bowl and reserve.

Cook the ziti according to package directions. Drain well and return to the pasta pot. Over low heat, stir the ziti with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until the ziti is well coated.

Scatter the Fontina, Mozzarella, and Asiago cheeses over the top and let them remain on top for a couple of minutes to warm up. Then, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to melt the cheeses, then stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, nutmeg, salt and heavy cream until well mixed.

Transfer the ziti and cheese sauce to a serving platter. Sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over the top and serve immediately.

CHEF COMMENTS

This dish sound very much like the Penne Rigate with Four Cheeses. It is! Except, that this dish uses four different cheese, and therefore has a distinctively different taste than the Penne Rigate dish. Both are obscenely rich in cheese, just different cheeses giving the dish a completely different flavor . . . But equally delicious . . . And equally rich! Try them both, you’ll see and taste the differences.

From my cookbook, The "Old Country" Italian Cookbook, by Donald J.P. La Marca

Tagged: italian, pastadishes add tags

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