Coquillettes au Jambon (The Ultimate French Mac & Cheese)
(koh-kee-yet oh zhahm-bohn)
Les Plats de Semaine: Weeknight Survival and Comfort
If you ask any French person what their ultimate childhood comfort food is, they won't point you to beef bourguignon or a majestic duck confit. They’ll point you straight to coquillettes au jambon, the undisputed king of the weeknight scramble. It takes exactly as long to make as it takes to boil water, relying on a beautiful, unpretentious trinity of good butter, unsmoked ham, and alpine cheese. The trick to elevating it from sad boxed macaroni to the stuff of Parisian memory lies entirely in a grandmotherly bit of heat management. You melt the cheese gently off the flame so it transforms into a flawless, velvety sauce. No complicated roux, no pretentious truffle oil. Just pure, immediate gratification.
Before you start
Prepare your mise en place before boiling water.
This dish moves incredibly fast once the pasta is cooked. Have your ham cubed, cheese grated, and cream measured out before the macaroni hits the water so you don't lose the residual heat required to build the sauce.
Ingredients
- elbow macaroni1 lb
- deli boiled ham8 oz
- European-style butter3 tbsp
- heavy cream3/4 cup
- Gruyère or Emmental cheese2 cup
- whole nutmeg1/4 tsp
- black pepper1/2 tsp
- kosher salt1 pinch
- fresh chives2 tbsp
Method
- 01
Boil the pasta in heavily salted water.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, salt it until it tastes like the sea, and cook the macaroni strictly according to package instructions until al dente.
- 02
Reserve the starchy pasta water.
Just before draining the noodles, carefully scoop out about a half cup of the cooking water, which is critical for binding the fat and dairy into a cohesive sauce.
- 03
Toss the pasta with butter completely off the heat.
Drain the pasta well and immediately return it to the warm pot, keeping it off the stove burner while vigorously stirring in the butter until every noodle is coated.
- 04
Build the creamy base.
Pour in the heavy cream and half of the reserved pasta water, then add the grated nutmeg, black pepper, and the cubed ham.
- 05
Emulsify the cheese gently.
Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, drop in the grated cheese by the handful. The residual heat of the pot will slowly melt it into a silky, luxurious sauce without the dairy splitting or turning greasy.
- 06
Adjust the consistency and serve immediately.
If the sauce feels too thick, splash in a little more of the reserved pasta water until it reaches a perfectly creamy texture, taste for salt, and spoon immediately into warm bowls.
Notes
The Deli Counter Rule.
American supermarkets are landmines of honey-baked and hickory-smoked deli meats that will make this taste like holiday leftovers. Insist on plain boiled ham, and ask the deli clerk to cut it a quarter-inch thick so you can cube it properly.
The Cheese Directive.
Pre-shredded cheese is coated in cellulose to prevent clumping, which will absolutely ruin the velvety texture of this emulsion. Spend the extra few dollars on a solid block of high-quality Gruyère or Swiss and grate it yourself.
Le Gratin Variation.
To turn this into a baked casserole, slightly undercook the pasta by one minute, transfer the finished creamy mixture to a buttered baking dish, top generously with another cup of grated cheese, and bake at 400F for 15 to 20 minutes until blistering and crusty.