Fancy dish turns out to be (glorious) mac ’n’ cheese

Three decades ago, I was inducted into the Commanderie des Nobles Vins du Jura et du Comte, a bacchanalian confraternity in the Franche-Comte region of France celebrating the local wines and cheeses.

A few of us food writers from the United States took the charter’s oath to extol, whenever possible, the noble wines and cheese of the Jura. We received an embossed medal and a parchment with the seal and signatures of the three officers. The hand-lettered parchment hangs in my kitchen to this day.

During our visit to this eastern region of France, we toured wineries and cheesemaking establishments. The dedication to tradition, to quality, to the land, runs through everything. I’ve been happily cooking with creamy, tangy Comte cheese and sipping the crisp white wines ever since.

A recent trip to Paris rekindled my appreciation for Comte cheese. Like a creamier version of Swiss cheese (without the holes), Comte tastes of rich milk, with a hint of nuts, and is aged to a perfectly tangy flavor. I bought a hunk at one of my favorite cheese shops, to eat along with quince paste and a baguette. I enjoyed a 24-month-aged wedge as part of a cheese course.

The piece de resistance came at lunch at chef Alain Ducasse’s brasserie, Restaurant Champeaux in the newly renovated Les Halles shopping center.

“Coquillettes/jambon/Comte/truffe noire.”

Easy to translate that the dish would have ham, cheese and black truffle. However, I hadn’t a clue as to a coquillette. I ordered the dish anyway.

Turns out, coquillettes are simply miniature elbow-shaped pasta. Ah, this was a fancy mac ’n’ cheese! Comfort food at its Frenchiest. And mighty delicious at that. Photos and notes taken, I brought home 3 pounds of coquillettes purchased at a market near my Airbnb.

Take no fear, the recipe that follows can be made with nearly any pasta, but using small shapes, along with the tiny dice of ham and cheese, adds to the eating pleasure. For ease, coquillettes can be ordered from Amazon. Ditto for Comte cheese. You can always skip the drizzle of truffle oil and opt for a little fruity olive oil in its place.

PASTA WITH SMOKED HAM AND COMTE CHEESE

Dice the ham and cheese into pieces just a tad larger than the pasta shapes.

8 ounces trimmed smoked ham steak

4 ounces Comte cheese (or Gruyere or Swiss cheese), cut into small dice (about 1 cup)

2 tablespoons each: butter, flour

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups 2 percent or whole milk

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Salt, freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces coquillettes, or tiny shell-shaped pasta or orzo

1 large egg

Shredded Parmesan, optional

Minced fresh chives, optional

Truffle oil or olive oil, optional

Cut the ham into a small dice. You will have about 1 1/4 cups. Trim the rind from the cheese and cut the cheese into the same size dice as the ham; you will have about 1 cup.

Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and garlic; cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 5 minutes. Stir in nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. (Sauce can be made an hour or so in advance.)

Heat a large saucepan of well-salted water to a boil. Add pasta; cook until al dente (slightly toothsome in the middle), about 8 minutes (or according to package directions). Scoop out and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain pasta in a colander, and place in a large serving bowl.

Reheat the milk mixture if it has cooled. Beat the egg in a small bowl and then slowly stir in a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture to warm the egg. Then, working over low heat, whisk the egg mixture into the remaining milk mixture. Whisk until smooth and heated through, but do not boil. Remove from heat.

To serve, pour the hot sauce over the warm pasta. Add diced ham and toss gently until well coated. (Add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water if mixture seems too thick.) Add the cheese cubes; toss again, and then spoon onto serving plates. If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan and chives, and drizzle with tiny dots of the truffle or olive oil. Makes: about 5 1/2 cups, serving 2 to 4

Nutrition information per serving (for 4 servings): 569 calories, 24 g fat, 13 g saturated fat, 133 mg cholesterol, 54 g carbohydrates, 7 g sugar, 32 g protein, 1,049 mg sodium, 3 g fiber