Ingredients
- 1 lb elbow pasta
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1-1 1/2 cups mild cheddar cheese, grated
- 1-1 1/2 cups Gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled
- dash of hot sauce
- salt & pepper
- 2 Granny Smith apples, diced finely
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place walnuts on a dry sheet pan and toast in the oven for 3 minutes. Watch the nuts carefully as they are easy to burn. In a blender or food processor, chop the walnuts to a fine ‘dust’. Set aside.
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Bring a large pot of water to boil; add pasta and cook according to the directions on the package, under cooking the pasta by 2-3 minutes. Drain and return to the pot.
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In a saucepan over medium-low heat, warm milk with the bay leaves. When bubbles form at the edges of the pan, remove for heat and let bay leaves steep for 5 minutes. Do not let milk come to a boil.
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In a deep skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add flour and cook for 3-4 minutes, whisking constantly. Once the paste/mixture is a golden color, remove the bay leaves from the milk and add about a quarter of the milk to the skillet. Whisk thoroughly. As soon as the mixture becomes smooth, add a little more milk, and continue to do so until all the milk is used and the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the cheddar, stir and remove from heat.
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Add the cheese sauce, Gorgonzola crumbles, hot sauce, salt and pepper to the pasta pot and stir to incorporate. Let the pasta stand for several minutes to soak up the sauce. In the meantime, butter (6) 3-inch ramekins or (1) large casserole dish. Fill the ramekins/casserole with the mac & cheese, top with walnut “dust” and bake until hot and bubbly. Just before serving, top with chopped apples.