Roasted Poblano and Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese

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Roasted Poblano and Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese
The cheesiest mac and cheese with roasted poblanos and smoked gouda!

Is there anything better in this world than the ultimate of ultimate comfort foods??? We are talking mac and cheese here! It’s ooey, gooey, creamy, lay on the couch in your sweat pants delicious, with alllllll the carbs and cheesy goodness! And this Roasted Poblano and Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese will fill your soul with cheesy happiness!

This is our version of homemade mac and cheese that has converted even the most notorious of mac and cheese haters (cough *Mark* cough). Do you like cheese? Then you will love it. Do you like pasta? Then you will love it. Do you like a little spice in your life? Make this, you will love it!

This recipe was adapted from a recipe that I, Angela, have been making for several years from Just a Dash blog. You can find the original recipe for Smoked Gouda and Sharp Cheddar Mac and Cheese here. And the original is an absolute winner, so if you are not fond of the modifications we have made, go see the Just a Dash recipe.

We hope you enjoy this recipe for Roasted Poblano and Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese! Let us know your thoughts in comments and make sure you tag us on Instagram when you make it @cooking_with_wine.

If you like this recipe, check out some of our other popular comfort food recipes below:

Poblano Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese

Recipe by Angela and Mark Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

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Ingredients

  • dry cavatelli or pasta shape of choice (or 1 recipe Multipurpose Pasta Dough shaped into cavatelli)

  • 4 poblano peppers

  • 6 tbsp 6 unsalted butter

  • ¼ cup flour – all purpose

  • 2¼ cups heavy cream

  • 2 tsps mustard powder

  • 1 egg

  • ¼ cup mascarpone

  • ⅓ cup smoked gouda

  • ⅓ cup aged white cheddar

  • ⅓ cup sharp cheddar

  • 1 tsp 1 cajun seasoning

  • ½ tsp cayenne

  • ½ tsp smoked paprika

  • ½ tsp black pepper

  • ¼ cup panko bread crumps

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.

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Join the Conversation

  1. I haven’t worked with poblanos much – is there a reason you prefer this roasting method vs toasting a whole one? It seems more work to remove the skin from strips. Thank you!

    1. Angela and Mark Author says:

      Hi Ann! Even when we roast a whole poblano, we remove the skins because the skin can be tough and difficult to chew in this dish. The way we roast them for this recipe, we char the skin completely and it doesn’t have the best flavor in the mac and cheese (a bit too much of that char taste for our liking). Cutting into strips makes them easier to manage after roasting since the seeds are already removed, but feel free to try roasting the entire pepper – the most important part is just getting those diced peppers in the dish. 🙂

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