While Ebbie was visiting over Thanksgiving, he treated L. to an absolute mountain of cheese and charcuterie. L. has since moved on from the joys of cholesterol but my fridge is still full of odds and ends of salami and cheeses. This gooey dish is perfect for using up cheese remainders, the basil adds some herbaceous notes to the cheesiness of it all, and the baked cherry tomatoes (stirred in at the end) add a bit of tartness and texture to an otherwise (deliciously) creamy dish.
4 portions penne
2 cups cubed cheese
2 cups milk
2 Tbsps butter
2 Tbsps flour
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 lb cherry tomatoes
2 Tbsps chopped basil
Salt and white pepper to taste
Turn your oven to 400. Place your cherry tomatoes in a single layer on a lined baking tray, salt lightly and place in the oven as soon as you have done that, no preheating necessary.
Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the penne for one minute less than the directions on the side of the box, 10 minutes. Please note that I do not give exact portion sizes when cooking pasta as it is often a matter of personal taste and appetite. Drain the pasta and set aside while you make the sauce.
Check the tomatoes; shake the tray so that they roll over and cook on their other side.
Using the pasta pan, melt the butter over medium heat. As soon as it is golden brown, add the flour and whisk to cook the flour and to combine into a pasta.
Add the milk and whisk well. Continue to whisk off and on for a few minutes until the mixture heats through and starts to thicken. Add the cheese and continue to whisk to combine the melted cheese with the sauce.
Once all the cheese has melted, stir in the mustard and add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the drained pasta back to the pot and cook, stirring so that all the pasta is coated in the cheese sauce.
Remove the tomatoes from the oven. The skin should be lightly charred in places and some of the tomatoes will have burst, releasing their juices which will have slightly thickened.
Place pasta in a serving bowl, tip in the contents of the baking tray and and stir the tomatoes and the chopped basil into the cheesy pasta. Clean the sides of the dish better than I did in the image above and serve at once.