Crawfish-Pimento Mac ’n’ Cheese

I had lobster mac ’n’ cheese on a family vacation to Boston and fell in love. Lobster isn’t a local ingredient on the Gulf Coast where I live, but its cousin, the humble but extremely tasty crawfish, is. And since this is the South, I’ve spiced up my pimento cheese and added Rotel tomatoes. The gnocchi pasta are about the same size as the crawfish tails, and they capture the sauce to make each bite perfect. This comfort food might become your family’s favorite.

3 cups gnocchi pasta shells

3 tablespoons butter, divided

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

1 ½ cups Spicy Pimento Cheese (see recipe on page 283)

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained

1 (12-ounce) package frozen crawfish tails, thawed and drained

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

⅓ cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 12-inch cast-iron skillet.

Fill a medium saucepan three-quarters full with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi pasta and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and place it in the greased skillet.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and flour. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of the milk until smooth, then add the remaining 1 cup milk. Whisk in the Spicy Pimento Cheese until melted and smooth. Cook the cheese sauce until the mixture begins to thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the canned tomatoes and green chilies, crawfish, and salt. Add additional salt to taste.

Gently stir the sauce into the pasta until combined. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top. Cut the remaining 1 tablespoon butter into cubes and scatter over the bread crumbs.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until brown. If the top has not browned during baking, change the oven setting to broil and broil until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings.