ingredients

1 pound elbow macaroni
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons (½ stick) Kerrygold Unsalted Pure Irish Butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, warmed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons gochujang
¼ teaspoon ground (or freshly grated) nutmeg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
4 cups Kerrygold Savory Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup packed kimchi, roughly chopped

method

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a rapid boil. Add the macaroni and boil for 4 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

Meanwhile, put the panko in a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil, and mix until all the panko is evenly moist. Set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed ovenproof pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute as the mixture bubbles. Drizzle in the warm milk, whisking to get rid of any clumps. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the mustard, gochujang, nutmeg, and salt. Switch to a wooden spoon and continue stirring until the sauce coats the back of the spoon. It’ll just take a few minutes. (When you draw your finger across the back of the spoon, the sauce should be thick enough not to run into the line your finger makes.)

Remove from the heat and add both grated cheeses, the macaroni, and kimchi and mix until the pasta is completely coated with cheese and kimchi sauce. You can bake the mac and cheese right in the pot, as long as it’s ovenproof, or you can pour the pasta into a wide, shallow casserole-style dish. Top with the panko mixture and transfer the pot or dish to the oven. 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes for a shallow casserole pan or 35 to 40 minutes if using a deeper pan, until the panko topping is golden brown and the cheese sauce is bubbling at the edges. The finished dish can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated.

Note: Baking mac and cheese can be tricky—you want to cook the noodles first, but if you cook them too long, they get too soft after baking. I’ve found that 4 minutes is the perfect amount of time to cook the noodles before stirring them into the cheese sauce.