Cheesy Baked Pasta with Cauliflower and Bacon

This is by far one of my all-time favorite recipes. I shared this in the Yakima Magazine five plus years ago and while I make it at least a couple of times a year, I’ve never gone back and photographed it better. Honestly, we probably never let it cool long enough to snap a decent photo before digging in. So while the photos do absolutely no justice to how good this homemade mac and cheese really is, I promise you, this is a recipe you need to make.

The original recipe is from a cookbook called Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes and over the years I’ve adapted the recipe to make it my own. I love the smokey gouda and salty bacon with the pasta and cauliflower. The homemade cheese sauce is so simple to make and easily adaptable to make to your preference. Creamy fontina, a sharp white cheddar or mild yellow cheddar would all be delicious in place of the gouda if you prefer something different.

This is winter comfort food in a pan and I can’t think of anything better on this cold, foggy, wintery Friday.

Cheesy Baked Pasta with Cauliflower and Bacon

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 cup chopped onion

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 3 cups cold milk

• 1 bay leaf

• 16 ounces Smoked gouda, grated (Dubliner, extra sharp cheddar is an excellent alternative)

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• Pepper

• Salt

• 1 pound pasta (ziti/rigatoni/shells…whatever you like or have on hand)

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets, florets sliced into bite size pieces

• 4 slices center cut bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled

• 4 ounces shredded parmesan cheese (for sprinkling at the end)

• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

Boil pasta in a heavily salted pot of rapidly boiling water until almost tender. Add the cauliflower to the pasta and cook until cauliflower is barely tender, about 4 minutes. Drain very well and set aside while you make the cheese sauce.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Stir in garlic. Add the flour and continue stirring for one minute. Add the milk all at once along with the bay leaf. Cook, whisking the mixture until it comes to a boil and thickens, about 5-8 minutes. Add the cheeses, turn the heat to low and simmer until melted. Stir in salt, cayenne and nutmeg. Remove the bay leaf and season with pepper to taste. Stir drained pasta and cauliflower into the cheese sauce.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the baking dish. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, fresh parsley and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover the last five minutes to let the edges brown slightly and make sure the cheese is boiling.