Gruyere and caramelized onions are a pair that can make a fabulous grilled cheese sandwich or a classic French onion soup. This recipe for macaroni and cheese brings together the sweetness of the caramelized onions with the earthiness of Gruyere.
Cooking the onions in the béchamel helps the flavour really penetrate the sauce, so don’t do it separately! You can make this dish ahead of time, sprinkle it with cheese and refrigerate, it will reheat quite well in a 350F oven.
Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Macaroni & Cheese
(serves 4)
Slice the onion in half and then in thin slices against the grain. Heat a large saucepan to medium and add the oil, onion and a pinch of salt. Carefully sauté the onions until a nice deep brown, don't be afraid to adjust the heat if the onions are burning or not browning. Add the butter and stir to melt. Once melted stir in the flour and cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Slowly add in milk, stirring to incorporate. If you do this too fast it will be lumpy. Add 1/2 cup at a time at before stirring to allow the mixture to simmer together first. Once all the milk has been added, add the bay leaf and let the mixture simmer gently for 10 minutes stirring regularly so it doesn't burn to the bottom. Taste and season.
Cook the macaroni until al dente, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water and drain. Stir cheese slowly into sauce reserving a tablespoon or two of the top. Add pasta, and stir in just enough pasta water to coat all of the pasta with the sauce. Taste and season again. Transfer to a casserole dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Turn on your broiler and broil until bubbly and brown on top.[
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
What a perfect combination – two of my favorite flavors in the world.
Belinda – I know, they really are darling together.
Mmmmmhhh, that looks so good. Makes me wish I had gruyere in to try it out straight away.
Sometimes these recipes drive me crazy! What exactly are 4 ‘portions’ of macaroni? Sounds great but it would be nice to not be guessing about measurements…
Beth – Thanks for the feedback. I generally write pasta measurements that way because each box gives you a serving guidance as every pasta is different. If you used a bigger macaroni then the cup measurements would vary.
For this recipe I used about 3/4 C per person or 3 cups. That said, I know in my family we can be big eaters so I usually make a bit extra.
Wow, this looks great. I’m a huge fan of onions and gruyere (and pasta!)…this would go over very well in my house!
Does this dish need only enough time to let the cheese brown on top under the broiler? Is there no need to bake the dish in the oven for a while?
betty – if you don’t let it cool down then no, it doesn’t need to go in the oven for any amount of time. However, it won’t come to any harm either.
Wow-two of my favorite dishes combined? I’ll be making this one for sure-it looks great!
Shanon
Mmm gruyere! My absolute all-time favourite cheese ever! I have to admit though, I’ve never had it in a mac & cheese combo, but this looks surprisingly good!
Tina – I hadn’t either but I seem to be using it more and more lately, mostly because I keep making the worlds most fabulous scalloped potatoes and Gruyere is a key ingredient!
Sweet caramelized onions would go really well in a cheesy and creamy mac and cheese like this!
Kevin – I just love caramelized onions, don’t they go with everything?
When you say 1 T of flour do you mean 1 tablespoon or teaspoon? you wrote everything else out. Thanks!
One tablespoon. Sorry for the delay! Currently travelling