Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta (Holiday Blog Hop)

This time of year, all I want is comfort food. Something warm. Something hearty. Something with a lot of cheese.

I have the perfect dish that fits all my comfort food requirements with an added bonus: pasta.

You can use any cut of pasta you want. I chose shells because I like them. :) It’s like a fancy mac & cheese incorporating fontina, mascarpone and parmesan cheeses!

I even added some fresh spinach to the dish to make it seem a little healthier. See…I’m always looking out for you.

Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta (serves 4)

8 oz uncooked shell pasta

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded fontina cheese

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

2 cups of fresh spinach

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

pinch of nutmeg

Tabasco to taste

1/2 cup Panko

1/2 Tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; keep warm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour and milk in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Remove from heat; add cheeses, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Stir in salt, black pepper, nutmeg and Tabasco. Add spinach and cooked pasta, stirring to coat. Spoon pasta mixture in a 8x8 baking dish coasted with cooking spray.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in Panko until well combined. Sprinkle Panko mixture evenly over pasta mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley.

Printable Recipe

This post was the fourth installment of our Holiday Blog Hop Series. Our ingredient choices were wines (red, white or sparkling), white chocolate or mascarpone. If you missed the other bog hop posts, you can see them here:

Blog Hop #1: Bernice’s Pumpkin Bread

Blog Hop #2: Brown Sugar Pecan Bundt Cake

Blog Hop #3: Eggnog Bread

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