Roasted Poblano and Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese

Directions

• HOMEMADE PASTA
• Follow homemade pasta recipe here. Use a pasta extruder, hand crank cavatelli maker, or hand shape pasta. Alternatively, use 4 cup dried pasta and cook slightly less than al dente. Follow cooking instructions on the box.
• ROASTED POBLANONS
• Cut poblanos into 1 inch wide strips, discarding seeds and stem.
• Place strips skin side up on a baking sheet.
• Broil on high for 6-10 minutes or until the skins are mostly black. Check every 2 minutes to make sure the skins don’t get too dark. Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes, then place the strips in a ziplock bag for 30 minutes.
• Once cool, remove skins and finely chop. Set aside.
• COOK PASTA
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tbsp salt to boiling water then reduce heat slightly so that the water is barely boiling. Add fresh pasta to pot and cook for NO MORE THAN 30 seconds. Remove to a strainer and rinse with cold water. If your pasta begins to stick together, drizzle with a tsp of olive oil. Set aside.
• CHEESE SAUCE
• Preheat your oven to 350°
• In a large pot, begin by making a beschamel sauce as follows: Melt butter over medium heat, then slowly add the flour while whisking constantly. Cook until smooth and mixture begins to smell nutty and slightly colors. Turn down heat as needed to prevent the mixture from gaining too much color. The goal is to make a blonde roux here.
• Reduce heat to low and slowly add the cream and continue to whisk constantly until all cream has been added and the mixture is smooth.
• Whisk in mustard powder.
• Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the beschamel has thickened to a paste-like consistency. If your beschamel becomes too thick, you can add a little water to thin it out, but it should be fairly thick yet still creamy. You can always add water later in the process after the cheese is added. Keep beschamel warm on low heat.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg then slowly add 1-2 spoonfuls of the warm beschamel to the egg to temper it while continuing to beat the egg mixture. Once the beschamel and egg are combined completely, pour the mixture back into the large pot with the rest of the beschamel, and whisk to combine.
• Add mascarpone and the 3 grated cheeses. Stir until melted and combined. Turn heat up to medium to assist in melting the cheese if needed. If you notice that the mixture is not creamy at this point, add a small amount of water to thin it out. You should have a very creamy sauce at this point.
• Add all remaining seasonings and roasted chopped poblanos. Taste and add additional seasonings or salt if needed.
• Add cooked pasta to cheese sauce, and stir to combine. Transfer to a large baking dish and sprinkle the top with bread crumbs.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until the sauce begins to bubble.
• Broil on high for 1 minute or until the bread crumbs look nicely toasted.
• Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.