from Cape Breton Island Traditional Recipes
The ultimate comfort food with a little pizzaz!
Ingredients
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk, warmed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 pound cooked lobster meat, chopped
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
Cook macaroni according to package directions, but 2 minutes less than recommended time. Drain and set aside.
In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
Gradually whisk in warm milk. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce thickens. Add dry mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Stir in cheddar, Gruyere and ¼ cup Parmesan until melted and smooth. Fold in cooked macaroni and lobster meat.
Transfer to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs mixture over macaroni.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: Recipe doesn’t give you instructions for the breadcrumb mixture: combine the breadcrumbs, remaining Parmesan and parsley. Add this mixture to the top of the casserole. If you want a crispier topping, add melted butter to this mixture. Once you have this recipe mastered, play around with different cheese combinations as well as adding any other ingredients (I like a little dash of hot sauce or substitute the dry mustard with a whisky mustard…just don’t overpower the taste of the lobster).
Contents and images used with permission by Lisa Marie MacLeod. https://www.facebook.com/p/Cape-Breton-Island-Traditional-Recipes-61576319755274/