Chef Juliette
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Macaroni à l’Italienne
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2285, Macaroni à l’Italienne, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Macaroni à l’Italienne proves that drying is a technique, not a pause: toss the drained pasta over the fire, then bind it with equal Gruyère, Parmesan, and butter until every curve gleams.
Main Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Budget Friendly
10 min
Active Time
20 min cook•30 min total
Yield4 servings
Macaroni à l’Italienne (macaroni bound with Gruyère, Parmesan, and butter) teaches one severe little lesson: draining isn't drying. The macaroni must lose its clinging water over the fire before the liaison, the binding, begins. Wet macaroni turns the cheese to paste; properly dried macaroni takes a glossy coat of butter and cheese without becoming heavy.
Unlike many grand entries, this one asks for no saucier's mother sauce, no stock held on the fire, and no salamander. Its professional assumption is more modest: a wide sautépan, cheese grated before service, and a cook ready to toss macaroni without stopping. At home, the book's pound ratio becomes the complete four-person batch, a 30 cm skillet replaces the range-sized pan, and a warmed deep bowl replaces the formal timbale. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The timbale and the brigade mise en place are scaffolding. They can go. Complete draining, drying over direct heat, equal weights of the two cheeses, and the full proportion of real butter are the dish and must stay. Have the cheeses weighed and the butter cut before the water boils, then guard the decisive step: dry the macaroni until its wet shine disappears.
Macaroni à l’Italienne belongs to the French classical and Parisian bourgeois table, where à l’italienne marked the Italian association of macaroni and Parmesan rather than an Italian regional pasta recipe. French cooks paired Parmesan with Gruyère, then used butter and vigorous tossing to form the liaison before carrying the macaroni to table in a timbale. Despite the name, this preparation contains neither tomato nor a baked crust; its identity is the equal-cheese binding made directly over the fire.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dry elbow macaroni
Quantity
4 cups (950 ml / 454 g)
water
Quantity
4 quarts (3.8 L / 3.8 kg)
fine sea salt for the cooking water
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g)
Gruyère
Quantity
about 3/4 cup (180 ml / 71 g)
finely grated
Parmesan
Quantity
about 3/4 cup (180 ml / 71 g)
finely grated
cold unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g)
cut into 8 small pieces
fine sea salt for finishing
Quantity
1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.8 g), or to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
freshly grated nutmeg
Quantity
1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.3 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dry elbow macaroni | 4 cups (950 ml / 454 g) |
| water | 4 quarts (3.8 L / 3.8 kg) |
| fine sea salt for the cooking water | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 18 g) |
| Gruyèrefinely grated | about 3/4 cup (180 ml / 71 g) |
| Parmesanfinely grated | about 3/4 cup (180 ml / 71 g) |
| cold unsalted buttercut into 8 small pieces | 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) |
| fine sea salt for finishing | 1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.8 g), or to taste |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
| freshly grated nutmeg | 1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.3 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •6 to 8 quart (5.7 to 7.6 L) stockpot
- •Large colander
- •30 cm (12 inch) sautépan or wide heavy skillet
- •Fine grater
- •2 quart (1.9 L) deep serving bowl or timbale
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the liaison
Weigh the Gruyère and Parmesan separately, then combine them thoroughly. Equal quantity means equal weight, regardless of how loosely either cheese fills a cup. Cut the cold butter into eight small pieces and reserve one piece for the final toss or a possible rescue. Fill the serving bowl with hot water so it warms while the macaroni cooks, then empty and dry it before serving.
- 2
Cook the macaroni
Bring the water to a full boil in a large pot and add the cooking salt. Drop in the macaroni, stir immediately, and cook until tender throughout but still holding its shape, following the lower end of the package timing as a guide. Bite one piece: it should offer a little resistance without a chalky centre. Do not add oil, which would prevent the butter and cheese from taking hold.
- 3
Drain it completely
Pour the macaroni into a large colander and shake it firmly until water no longer falls from the base, about 45 seconds. Do not rinse it and do not save cooking water for the finish. The usual modern instinct to loosen cheese with pasta water works against this particular liaison; the source is plain that the macaroni must be completely drained.
- 4
Dry over fire
Transfer the macaroni to a dry, wide sautépan over medium heat. Sauté, a quick toss over direct heat, by rocking the pan and turning the macaroni continuously for 1 to 2 minutes. Its surface will change from wet and slippery to lightly matte, and no beads of water should gather on the pan floor. It will look almost too dry. That is exactly right. If moisture remains, do not add the cheese. Ça se rattrape: keep tossing for another 30 seconds at a time until the water is gone, lowering the heat if the macaroni begins to colour.
Sauté here means movement, not browning. The macaroni should dry while remaining pale; brown patches mean the pan is too hot. - 5
Form the liaison
Lower the heat and season the dry macaroni with the finishing salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the combined cheeses and seven pieces of butter in four small additions, tossing thoroughly after each so the butter melts and the cheeses cling evenly rather than collecting in the pan. Keep the macaroni moving over gentle heat until every piece wears a smooth, butter-gold sheen, about 1 to 2 minutes. If the cheese becomes stringy or releases oil, the pan is too hot. Lift it from the heat at once, add the reserved cold butter, and toss firmly until the coating settles. Do not add water; that would restore the wet paste you worked to prevent.
- 6
Dish and serve
Taste and correct the salt only after the cheeses have melted, since both bring their own seasoning. Spoon the macaroni loosely into the warmed deep bowl or timbale, scraping every trace of the butter and cheese from the pan over the top. Serve immediately while the liaison remains supple and glossy. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Weigh the cheeses. Equal cupfuls are unreliable because finely grated Parmesan packs differently from Gruyère; 71 grams of each preserves the book's exact proportion.
- •Grate both cheeses yourself on the fine holes of a grater. Pre-grated cheese is often dry and coated to prevent clumping, which also prevents the clean liaison wanted here.
- •A wide pan matters more than a grand pan. The macaroni needs enough exposed surface to shed water quickly, so use a 30 cm sautépan or skillet rather than returning it to a narrow stockpot.
- •Macaroni à l’Italienne is best the moment it is made. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and keep them for up to two days; reheat gently in a covered skillet with a small piece of butter, accepting that the second liaison will be softer.
- •Serve it with a sharply dressed green salad. A brisk dry white, such as Bourgogne Aligoté, cuts through the butter and two cheeses without obscuring them.
Advance Preparation
- •Grate and weigh both cheeses up to one day ahead, then refrigerate them separately in tightly covered containers. Combine them just before cooking so their equal weights remain clear.
- •The butter may be cut into small pieces several hours ahead and kept cold. Warm the serving bowl while the macaroni boils.
- •Do not cook the macaroni ahead. Draining, drying, and forming the liaison must follow one another while the pasta remains hot enough to take the butter and cheese.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 335g)
Calories
665 calories
Total Fat
24 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
10 g
Cholesterol
62 mg
Sodium
815 mg
Total Carbohydrates
86 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
26 g
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