There is something special about the inherent ability of Tuscan households to repurpose, recycle and still enjoy leftover ingredients from pantries or the back of refrigerators, as if they were items purchased freshly on our daily shopping runs. We turn stale bread into delicious hearty soups. We let undrunk red wine turn into vinegar. We can turn almost any leftover into a pasta sauce, which is what happens to a cheese drawer filled with oversized chunks or pieces that are too small to deserve the edge of a charcuterie board.

While this recipe calls for a high-end ingredient like truffle cheese, intended to thrill your palate, it is equally true that it could be replaced by the same amount of another cheese of your choosing, as long as the basic laws of physics are respected: dry cheese like Parmigiano does not melt properly and overly wet (burrata or ricotta) cheese will drown your recipe in excessive liquids. Plus, a note for all households intending to feed their kids with a delicious baked pasta casserole: truffle requires a bit of a developed taste, so substituting it with a mix of fontina, pecorino and mozzarella would ensure a few minutes of silence at the dinner table. For a special, grown-up occasion, however, this truffled version is the one we serve.
There are several options for the truffle cheese. For the deepest flavor, look for one that has visible truffle bits, such as boschetto al tartufo, a creamy cheese made from both sheep’s and cow’s milk that melts like a dream. This recipe uses besciamella (Béchamel or white sauce) as the base, with the cheese melted in.
Serve the pasta in relatively small portions (it’s especially good baked in individual containers) because it is very rich and probably best as a separate primi course at a traditional Italian dinner.
Baked truffle cavatappi
Serves 6-8

Pasta
Softened unsalted butter for the dish
500 g cavatappi or other tube-shaped pasta
30 g unsalted butter
15 g unbleached all-purpose flour
700 ml whole milk, heated until steaming
250 g boschetto al tartufo cheese, cut into small cubes
Sea salt + freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
Breadcrumbs
50 g plain dried breadcrumbs
50 g freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
15 g unsalted butter, melted
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly butter a 20 x 35 cm baking dish.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the cavatappi and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just short of al dente, about 2 minutes less than the recommended cooking time on the package directions. The pasta will be cooked again in the oven, so it is important not to overcook it. Drain well and return to the cooking pot.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Reduce the heat to low and let bubble without browning for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the hot milk and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking often, until the sauce is lightly thickened and no raw flour taste remains, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the cheese and let it soften in the sauce for about 3 minutes. Whisk until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth. Season the sauce to taste with the salt and pepper and stir in the nutmeg. Mix the pasta and sauce together in the pasta cooking pot. Spread in the prepared baking dish.
Mix the bread crumbs and Parmigiano well in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and mix with your fingertips until combined. Sprinkle evenly over the pasta.
Bake until the pasta is lightly browned, 20 to 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve hot.
Wine: Pair with a full-bodied Super Tuscan from Bolgheri.
Tip: Boschetto al tartufo is our preferred cheese for this dish because it is rind-less (meaning no waste) and has plenty of real truffles. It is sold at well-stocked cheese stores. Supermarkets sometimes carry other kinds of truffled cheeses, but these often are made with artificially flavored truffle oil. Most truffle oil has never been near a real truffle and we don’t use it.