Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta

The nutty flavor of fontina and creaminess of mascarpone create a delicious updated version of mac and cheese. If your supermarket doesn't stock mascarpone cheese, substitute full-fat cream cheese. For a dinner party, bake the pasta in individual gratin dishes for 15 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

Ingredients

• 1  pound  uncooked penne
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
• 3  cups  fat-free milk
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
• 1/4  cup  (2 ounces) mascarpone cheese
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 3  (1-ounce) slices white bread
• 1  tablespoon  butter
• 1  small garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; keep warm.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and milk in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Cook 10 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; add cheeses, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Stir in salt and black pepper. Add cooked pasta, stirring to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Tear bread into several pieces. Place bread in a food processor; process until fine crumbs measure 1 1/2 cups.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in breadcrumbs until well combined. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture evenly over pasta mixture. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

423 (30% from fat)

Fat:

14.3g (sat 8.2g,mono 3.7g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:

19.3g

Carbohydrate:

54.6g

Fiber:

2.1g

Cholesterol:

46mg

Iron:

2.4mg

Sodium:

550mg

Calcium:

298mg