Recipe: Wolfgang Puck’s baked macaroni and cheese for the Oscars

Whether you’re throwing a dress-up Oscar viewing party with friends, or plan to watch in your pyjamas with unwashed hair and a bowl of popcorn, viewers can get a taste of Hollywood’s most glamorous night of the year by recreating recipes that was served to the glitterati that night.

When all the awards were handed out on Sunday night, Hollywood A-listers let their proverbial hair down at the annual Governors Ball, where Wolfgang Puck presided over his 24th gala dinner to the stars.

The party’s 1 500 guests had 60 foods to choose from, and a bottomless bar of haute cocktails to sip.

Here’s one of Puck’s recurring dishes: baked macaroni and cheese

Ingredients

225g elbow macaroni
6 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 ½ cups milk
3 tbsp finely chopped black truffle (optional)
1/2 medium white onion
1 bay leaf
285g sharp aged white Cheddar, shredded
85g Gruyère cheese, shredded
28g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne
2 drops black winter truffle oil (optional)
1 cup fresh brioche or challah bread crumbs
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Thinly sliced fresh black truffles, for garnish (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add macaroni and cook until al dente, tender but still chewy, about 7 minutes. Drain and transfer to lightly oiled baking pan. Set aside.

2. While macaroni cooks, melt 3 tablespoons butter in separate pot over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes.

3. Add milk, chopped truffle, onion, and bay leaf to butter-flour mixture. Raise heat slightly and simmer for 10 minutes, until creamy, stirring regularly. Discard onion and bay leaf. Remove from heat.

4. Stir in ¾ of aged Cheddar along with other cheeses. Season with salt, black pepper, cayenne, and truffle oil if desired. Fold in macaroni. Pour into 2-litre casserole. Top with remaining Cheddar.

5. Melt remaining butter in sauté pan. Add breadcrumbs and parsley. Toss to coat. Spread crumb mixture evenly over top of macaroni.

6. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for about 5 minutes. Top with shaved truffle, if desired, before serving.

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