Baked Ham Mac & Cheese
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(0 votes)
Difficulty:
easy
Difficulty
Preparation:
35 min.
Preparation
ready in 50 min.
Ready in
Ingredients
for
10
- Ingredients
- 2 cups breadcrumbs (lightly toasted)
- 3 Tbsps unsalted butter (melted)
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsps Parmesan (grated)
- 4 Tbsps unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ cups Whole milk
- 1 ½ cups finely grated, sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ cups finely grated Havarti cheese
- 1 cup Parmesan (grated)
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 cups macaroni
- 2 cups frozen peas (thawed)
- 1 cup Diced ham
Preparation steps
1.
To make the topping place the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl and drizzle the butter over the crumbs. Add salt and parmesan and with your hands, toss well to combine. Set aside.
2.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 F.
3.
Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 3- to 4-quart saucepan. Whisk in the flour and continue to whisk over low heat for 3 minutes. The butter and flour should gently bubble and froth without coloring. Slowly add the milk, while whisking constantly. Be sure to whisk around the edges of the pan to get all the lumps. Whisk until the sauce is smooth and has the consistency of heavy cream, about 6 minutes. Raise the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a simmer, whisking constantly. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, for 10 minutes.
4.
Turn off the heat and gently whisk in the cheddar, havarti, and parmesan. Season to taste with salt. Keep warm.
5.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 1 minute less than indicated on the package. Drain well and return to the pot.
6.
Add the cheese sauce, peas, and ham to the pasta and gently stir to combine. Transfer the pasta mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish and evenly scatter the reserved breadcrumbs on top. Bake until the top is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
