Bechamel Sauce:
1 stick unsalted butter
Little more than 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart mix of skim milk & fat free half and half [or 1 qt. whole milk]
1 cup grated fontina (or Gruyere) [can use good Swiss if store is out of others] - 1/2 cup for sauce, 1/2 cup for topping
salt and pepper
1/2 lb thinly sliced prosciutto, julienned or 1/2 lb bacon cooked and
crumbled
1 lb box of rigatoni
3 -4 tbsp unsalted butter, broken up
Directions
Preheat oven to 425.
Start heating water for pasta.
Bechamel sauce:
In a 2 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour
and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Keep stirring and add in milk/creamer
until smooth. Simmer until it’s thick enough to coat a spoon (10 minutes or so).
Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup fontina/gruyere, prosciutto/bacon nutmeg
salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
When water for pasta is boiling, add the rigatoni and cook for about 5
minutes – the insides should still be hard. Drain and return to pot. Add béchamel
sauce and mix until the pasta is covered.
Grease a 9x13 baking pan and pour in the pasta. Smooth down the top,
cover with ½ cup of fontina/gruyere and dot with butter.
Bake 25 minutes – it should be bubbling and golden brown.
Reheat at 400 for 10-15 min.
