Ingredients
Pasta
- Elbow macaroni (or any pasta with holes, ridges, and curves)
- Salt for pasta water
Cheese Sauce
- Cheddar, block, grated (for sharpness)
- Gouda, block, skin removed, grated (for creaminess and flavour)
- Parmesan, freshly grated (for zing)
- Sodium citrate (key emulsifier — see notes)
- Generous amount of whole milk (make more sauce than you think you need)
- Small amount of heavy cream (added at the end)
- Butter (two additions — start of sauce and blended in at end)
- Onion, finely diced
- Garlic cloves, minced
- Black pepper
Crunchy Topping
- Butter
- Fresh garlic, minced
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne
Instructions
Step 1 — Prep Cheese
- Remove skin from Gouda. Grate Gouda and cheddar using a flat grater (use body weight to push — faster and easier). Set Parmesan aside.
- Always grate from block — pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that cause a gritty sauce.
Step 2 — Cook Pasta
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add elbow pasta.
- Stir occasionally but not constantly. Cook to al dente — the pasta will soften further when it absorbs the sauce.
- Taste to check texture. Remove with a spider strainer — do NOT rinse (the starch helps sauce adhere and rinsing removes seasoning).
- Spread on a flat tray to cool quickly. Reserve some pasta water.
Step 3 — Make the Crunchy Topping
- Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add minced garlic.
- Once garlic is fragrant, add panko breadcrumbs. Season with salt, black pepper, paprika, and cayenne. Stir and shake to coat.
- Toast until golden and fragrant. Immediately transfer to a flat tray to stop cooking. Spread out to cool.
Step 4 — Make the Cheese Sauce
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook until translucent, not browned.
- Add minced garlic. Cook until fragrant.
- Pour in all the milk. Add sodium citrate. Season with black pepper. Bring to a light simmer, stirring until sodium citrate dissolves completely.
- Once milk is hot, begin adding cheese gradually — a handful at a time — whisking constantly. Never add all the cheese at once (it will cool the milk and refuse to melt).
- Alternate between cheddar, Gouda, and Parmesan as you whisk. Continue until sauce is thick and smooth.
- Add heavy cream and a final knob of butter. Use a stick blender to blend until completely smooth and silky.
- Adjust consistency with a splash of milk if too thick. The sauce should flow smoothly and silently — no plopping.
Step 5 — Assemble
- Reduce sauce heat to low (don't let it scorch). Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. Heat through — the pasta will absorb some sauce as it heats.
- Transfer to a serving dish. Top generously with the toasted panko breadcrumbs.
- Serve immediately.
My Notes
⚠️ Exact quantities not specified in the video — Frank cooks by ratio and feel. For a standard batch: approximately 500g pasta, 400g mixed cheese, 500ml milk is a reasonable starting point.
⚠️ Sodium citrate can be found online or at specialty food stores. Without it, add 2-3 slices of American cheese to the sauce — it contains sodium citrate naturally and achieves a similar effect.
No oven required — the stovetop method keeps the sauce creamy. Baking dries it out.
Full Article
Transcript source: Epicurious YouTube channel. Recipe by Frank, professional chef and culinary instructor.