Sformato di Maccheroni {Macaroni Pie}
Sformato (sf-four-ma-toe) di Maccheroni (ma-ker-o-knee)! How fun is this? In English, it translates to Macaroni Pie! Well that’s what the literal translation is but I’m thinking it looks more like a cake, don’t you? Either way you slice it -tee hee, sorry, couldn’t resist! It’s dee-lish. It’s one for the young or young at heart. It’s a mound, or formation, if you will (that’s for you cookie *winking*) of ooey, gooey cheese. Not any cheeses mind you — fabulous Grana Padano & Fontina Cheeses. Ooh, so good! No processed cheeses allowed here. This is grown up cheese.
It’s so much fun to see everyone’s face when you place it on the table. They’re not quite sure exactly what it is, is it dinner or dessert? Once you slice into it, it quickly becomes obvious. & who doesn’t like Macaroni & Cheese? Don’t get confused when you read that the recipe calls for Rigatoni. In Italian, macaroni is any short cut of pasta.
A couple of notes: when you’re coating the sides of the Souffle dish with the breadcrumb/cheese mixture, I like to rotate my dish over a plate catching any of the breadcrumb mixture & then of course adding the runaways back in. Try to get it coated as evenly as possible. This is, after all, your CRUST. It is what holds the pie together!
After it’s finished cooking, you’ll need to let it rest 10 minutes once you’ve pulled it from the oven. GENTLY run your BLUNT knife around the edges, place your serving plate on top of the Souffle dish, CAREFULLY turn it upside down, give it a little tap & it should shimmy right out! Voila’ Sformato di Maccheroni!
You’ll want to serve this straight away. & in case you’re lucky enough to have any leftover, It does make for excellent leftovers the next day!
What you’ll need:
1 lb box of Rigatoni
2 Eggs - Slightly Beaten
50g (3.5 tbsp) Unsalted Butter (plus additional to butter Souffle dish)
50g (3.5 tbsp) Breadcrumbs
90g Grana Padano Cheese - Grated
100g Fontina Cheese - Thinly Sliced
100g Prosciutto - Cubed
Salt
What to do:
In a large pot, add enough water to cook pasta, place it over high heat & season it heavily with salt. Once water is boiling, add your pasta & cook until barely al dente (it will finish cooking in the oven). Drain. Place Pasta back into pot. Add 50g of Butter & 40g of grated Grana. Mix well. Set Aside. Preheat oven to 350.
WHILE the pasta is cooking, butter the inside of a Souffle Dish. Mix 50g of Grana & 50g of Breadcrumbs together in a small bowl. Mix well. Divide this mixture into 3 EQUAL parts. Place the first part into the Souffle Dish, rotating it so that the mixture evenly coats the inside of dish. Beat the eggs slightly in a small bowl and then pour into the Soufle dish, again rotating it so that the egg evenly covers the breadcrumb mixture. Place the second part of the breadcrumb mixture on top of egg layer, again roating it so that it is evenly coated.
Place 1/3 of your pasta into the Souffle Dish. Compact & Level it as much as possible with your wooden spoon. Place the slices on Fontina Cheese ontop of Pasta. Place 1/3 more of the Pasta ontop of Fontina layer. Level with spoon. Add Prosciutto and top with remaining Pasta. Level with Spoon & Sprinkle last portion of breadcrumb mixture on top.
Bake for approx 35 minutes or until top is cooked well. Allow to cool for 1o minutes. Run a blunt knife around the sides of your Souffle dish. Place a large plate ontop, invert and your Sformato di Maccheroni should release itself.
Serve immediately.
Buon Appetito!
If you liked this post, & come on I know you had to, it’s pretty unique after all, I’d really appreciate some share lovin’ ’cause that’s the way I roll… mwah!
That looks fantastic. It would be great to cut this in front of everyone.
This looks oh so good. My mom used to make a similar dish(no inverting)!
What a cool thing! Mac and cheese + cake = heaven.
very interesting
i think this might be really awesome on a cold-ish (ok, its 60 instead of 90) rainy weekend like the one we’re having in east texas right now. Thanks!
Thanks Divina! Oh definitely. I think I had a few ooh’s & aah’s that night : )
Ciao Kathy! Yes, this is another comfort food that I had in Italy. I loved it then & love it now. You’ll have to try inverting it (so much fun)
Ciao Tasty! Yes, it’s truly comfort food. What’s not to love tee hee!
Thanks Leigh Anne! It sounds like the perfect weekend to give it a go! Hope you <3 it!
Oh I LOVE this!!! But does “sformato” mean “malformed”? Yours looks perfect!
Ciao Mardi! Yes it can also mean pulled out of form but when referred to a food I was under the understanding of referring to it as a Pie. As with so many Italian words they can mean a VARIETY of things. Keeps things interesting : ) Parli L’Italiano?
What a unique take on the old mac and cheese! I’ll have to give this recipe a try.
Thanks Cookie! It’s def a grown up version that the little ones will also love ; ) A win win!
Simply delicious. Thank you for sharing. Cheers !
Oooh, I will try this!! But probably after our $30 week!
I guess if you use a more shallow dish it would be more ‘pie’ like. Whatever, it’s a great presentation.
Thanks a bunch sizzlechef! It is quite tasty ; )
Ciao Carrie ; ) LOL def, the cheeses would do us in on the budget! So excited to be participating with you!
Ciao Joan! It is a really nice presentation. Love to see everyone’s faces!
Hey Paula, No I don’t speak Italian (French and Spanish though!) but I learned it when I was in elementary school and remember that tidbit!
Ciao Mardi! WOW you are quite talented! I have always wanted to learn a third language : )
What a fantastic presentation! I love it! Definitely trying it out one of these days! Thank you for sharing! =)
Thanks so much Leyla! It really is a lot of fun to make & of course eat. I think I might even try some new add-ins next time as well!
OMG this looks AMAZING!
This is too cool and too delicious! It similiar to the Timpano but easy enough for a weeknight dinner. Brilliant!
Thanks Jessica! It was fun to make & it’s even better the next day!
Ciao Rachel! Thank you, yes it’s very similar to the Timpano & def easy peasy to make. Hardest part is all that grating LOL!
What a fun idea! I’ve been wanting to make a savory cake for quite some time. I wonder how it would be with a red sauce type filling…
Thanks Erica! I’ve never tried it with a red sauce, but I’m sure it would be tasty. Be sure to let me know how it turns out if you try it with the red sauce!
This does look great, wish I’d seen it over the weekend, but was otherwise out of pocket. Leah Ann was right about it fitting into our rainy weekend. Maybe use a red or alfredo sauce for a glaze? My son should like this as he doesn’t like the processed cheese stuff but I can slip in a white cheese anytime.
Thanks so much Rhonda! I hope y’all love it. So happy to hear that your little one doesn’t mind a little white cheese ; )
looks yummy!
Thanks Devoted ; )
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