| The Balthazar Cookbook | Potter, 2003 | Serves 6 to 8
This delicious gratin is flavored with sharp Gruyère and smoky lardons. It’s served at the restaurant in individual casseroles, but it looks best at home in a great big dish. This makes generous portions or highly prized leftovers. Be sure not to overbake the gratin or it will “break,” meaning that the butterfat in the cheese will separate from the milk solids, resulting in the dreaded greasy gratin.—Keith McNally
convert Ingredients
One 16-ounce box elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces lightly smoked slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
5 cups whole milk
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups grated Gruyère cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Want it? Click it.
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Cook the macaroni according to the directions on the box. Drain, toss with the olive oil, and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the bacon to a small skillet and saute over medium heat until brown but not crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels and add to the cooked macaroni.
4. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk just to a foamy boil, then reduce the heat to very low to keep warm.
5. In another saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the foam subsides, remove from the heat. Whisk in the flour and continue stirring until a smooth, pale roux has formed. Return the saucepan to medium heat and, while still whisking steadily, begin ladling the hot milk into the roux, 1 cup at a time, completely incorporating each cup before adding the next. After all the milk has been added, continue to whisk until the sauce thickens and bubbles gently, about 2 minutes. Add the Parmesan, 2 cups of the Gruyère, and the salt and pepper, and stir until the cheese has completely melted.
6. Pour the sauce over the macaroni, mix thoroughly, and pour into a buttered 10 X 14-inch gratin dish. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. Remove, sprinkle the remaining cup of Gruyère over entire top, and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes, until the top is golden and crunchy.
Recipe © 2003 Keith McNally, Riad Nasr, Lee Hanson. Photo © 2003 Christopher Hirsheimer. All rights reserved.
LC
on 
LC to your 
[Amy Giezentanner] Balthazar is my favorite New York City restaurant so I was excited when this Macaroni Gratin landed in my path. I wanted a bit of Balthazar in my home and the recipe didn’t disappoint. This creamy macaroni takes you beyond comfort and lands you firmly in the bliss zone with bites of smoky bacon and crunchy Gruyere. What’s sometimes a side dish is transformed into a satisfying meal that leaves you wishing you were still hungry so you could devour more. Relatively easy to make, the hardest part about this dish is waiting for it to come out of the oven so you can eat it piping hot. The only thing missing is the Balthazar atmosphere, but if I take a bite and close my eyes, I’m almost there….
[Beth Price] This mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. The sophisticated cheeses appeal to the grownup palate while the bacon satisfies the younger crowd. I halved the recipe to accommodate a smaller family, and it worked perfectly. Also, not being a fan of huge clean-ups, I altered the recipe a bit to make it a one-pot meal. I used an ovenproof pot to cook the pasta, then drained and set the pasta aside. Next, I fried the bacon in the same pot and wiped it clean before making the cheese sauce in it. Then I added the pasta and bacon back in and threw the whole thing in the oven. An easy family meal.