On day 23, the Aldi Cheese Calendar granted us a delicious Gouda. If you interviewed a group of people on their favorite cheese, you’d be hard pressed to miss Gouda. It’s a great all around cheese and works wonderfully in this Gouda and chèvre mac and cheese recipe.
Every year, Aldi releases a cheese Advent calendar. The calendar contains one individually wrapped piece of cheese for each day. There are twelve different cheeses available so we have two opportunities to explore different recipes we can make to feature each cheese. This is one of those recipes. Follow along here.
Cheeses
When biting into a piece of cheese, pay attention to when the flavor comes out. Sometimes the flavor hits you instantly – and these are cheeses that I refer to as “Opener” cheeses. Other types of cheese take a few seconds for the flavor to develop but remains throughout the end of the bite. These are closer cheeses. Well-rounded mac and cheese recipes make use of both opener and closer cheeses to ensure the flavor carries through the bite.
Gouda is a bit of a conundrum on the opener/closer line. Younger aged, like we see in this advent calendar, are opener cheeses. The flavor of this Gouda comes out immediately and fades away. However, when this cheese is aged, it becomes more of a closer cheese.
Fresh Chèvre is a smooth, creamy closer cheese. You frequently see it marketed as goat cheese and it’s sold in small logs that are between 4 and 8 ounces. This cheese will impart a creaminess that packs more flavor than you’d get from using standard cream cheese.
Pasta
When developing a mac and cheese recipe, one of the most important considerations to make is which pasta to use. If your pasta is too large, it will be difficult and cumbersome to eat. On the other hand, if your pasta is too small you run the risk of it becoming a soupy mess.
Penne, like in this Gouda and Chèvre mac and cheese recipe, sits in the perfect Goldilocks zone between too large and too small. It offers plenty of space to hold onto the sauce making sure every bite is full of flavor.
Add a fork
This Gouda and chèvre mac and cheese recipe Is creamy, flavorful, and perfect for any time you need some cheesy comfort food.
Gouda and Chevre Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 Oz pasta cooked according to package directions
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 3 Cups whole milk
- 4 Oz Gouda Grated
- 2 Oz Chèvre
- salt To taste
- pepper To taste
Instructions
- Pre heat your milk in the microwave for 45 seconds – just enough to take the chill out of it.
- Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and let it heat until it becomes foamy.
- Mix in flour. Cook it for a minute while stirring constantly
- Slowly add warmed milk to the butter mixture 1/4 cup at a time. Whisk it continually until combined. Season generously with salt and fresh cracked pepper.
- Once all of the milk is added, cook for a few minutes while whisking it. Do not let it boil. You will feel the sauce start to thicken. It’s ready for cheese when you rub a small amount between your fingers and it feels silky.
- Remove from heat and stir in your cheese until it’s melted and mixed into the sauce.
- Once the cheese is incorporated, use a cooked noodle to taste your sauce. If it doesn’t taste cheesy enough try adding a little more salt to bring out the flavor.
- Combine the pasta and sauce and serve.
