Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta

Cheese? Check.

Pasta? Check.

Breadcrumb topping? Check.

If a recipe has this trio of ingredients, it pretty much guarantees I'll cook it. What can I say? We're suckers for a baked pasta dish with breadcrumbs. Throw in that it's a Cooking Light recipe, and I'm all about it.

If your store doesn't have mascarpone cheese (like mine), substitute it with full fat cream cheese. You can also add in ham cubes (like I did), or leave it plain and basking in its cheesy goodness.

Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta

Adapted from Cooking Light

1 pound uncooked penne
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
3 cups fat-free milk
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
1/4 cup (2 ounces) mascarpone cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Cooking spray
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon butter
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; keep warm.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and milk in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Cook 10 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. (It will still be runny after ten minutes. Don't worry, it will thicken in the oven.) Remove from heat; add cheeses, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Stir in salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Add cooked pasta, stirring to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

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

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