Servings: 8
Equipment
- Stock Pot
- Colander
- Whisk
- Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Dried Pasta I like bowties, but you can use any shape.
- 4 tablespoons Butter
- 4 tablespoon Flour
- 2 teaspoon Sea Salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder optional but recommended
- 2 cups Whole Milk If you want it creamier, I use 1 cup heavy cream with 1 cup half-n-half.
- ½ cup Sour Cream, or 4 oz cream cheese ... or half-and-half of both if you’re feeling decadent.
- 4 cups Shredded Cheese You can mix and match or use all cheddar cheese. I prefer a mix of 1.5 cups Gruyere cheese, 2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
Garnish
- Coarse Black Pepper
- Parsley, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring water to boil with 1 tsp of salt.
- Once you have a rolling boil, add the pasta.
- Cook the pasta until al dente. In my experience, this is usually 1 to 2 minutes before the package instructions. I err on the side of undercooked because once you add the pasta to the cheese sauce, you will continue the cooking process.
- Drain the pasta, reserve about a cup of the cooking liquid, and set aside.
- In a separate saucepan, add the butter and cook until melted and foaming, but not browning.
- Whisk in the flour to make a rue.
- Add the milk, sour cream, and garlic powder, and continue to whisk until smooth.
- Add the cheese blend and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.
- Taste the cheese sauce and adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce and stir.
- Add pasta water, only if necessary, and stir until you get the desired consistency.
- Serve with a healthy dash of coarse black pepper and parsley.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!