Gratin de Macaronis
Macaroni in a nutmeg béchamel under Gruyère and breadcrumbs. The French version is looser and less cheesy than the English or American one, and better for it.
Photograph credit: macaroni gratin by yoppy · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
What to Put on the Table With Gratin de Macaronis
- Green salad
- Roast chicken
- A glass of light red
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: French Baguette, Fougasse, French Lentils.
Photograph credit: Macaroni au Gratin by madmarv00 · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
How to Cook Gratin de Macaronis
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Boil the macaroni in well-salted water for 3 minutes less than the packet says. Drain.
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Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook 3 minutes without colouring.
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Add the milk gradually, whisking, with the bay leaf. Cook 10 minutes, stirring, until it coats a spoon but is still pourable.
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Remove the bay and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. It should taste slightly over-seasoned.
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Stir in two-thirds of the Gruyère and fold in the drained macaroni. It will look too loose — that is correct.
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Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Tip into a buttered dish and top with the rest of the cheese, the breadcrumbs and the diced butter.
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Bake 30 minutes, until browned and bubbling at the edges. Rest 5 minutes.
Related guide: Ingredient substitutions.
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A Few Notes
Undercook the pasta by three minutes.
A loose sauce. It tightens considerably in the oven.
Grate the nutmeg fresh.
Leftovers
Refrigerated for 3 days. Reheat at 180°C / 356°F with a splash of milk. It freezes for 2 months.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Vegetarian when made with a hard cheese made without animal rennet in place of the gruyère.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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