Recipe review: Baked rigatoni in a bechemel sauce

This is a delicious recipe I have made often. I get requests to make this dish usually around Christmas time; my family loves it! I made it this year for Valentines Day and was greeted with the same warm reviews.

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart whole milk, at room temperature
Pinch fresh nutmeg
Sea salt and white pepper
1 cup grated fontina
1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto, julienned
1 pound dry rigatoni
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

• In a 2 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Always stirring, gradually add the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take approximately 10 minutes. 

• Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg, 1/2 cup fontina, prosciutto and season with salt and white pepper. Set aside.

• In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water and cook pasta. Time may vary, but the inside of the noodle should be slightly hard when done because it will get softer when baking.

• Return pasta to the pot and pour in bechamel sauce. Using a wooden spoon, mix well until all the pasta is coated with the sauce.

• Pour into a greased 13 by 9-inch baking dish and sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup fontina. Dot the top with diced butter.

• Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until bubbling and the top is golden brown.

Modifications: I got very excited while picking up the items for this dish at the super market. I wasn't able to immediately locate the rigatoni, but instead I found vegetable fortified pasta. So, I took a gamble on the bow ties with an orange hue. I also cut the recipe in half and there was enough food for two with some leftovers. Cutting the recipe down also made finding the correct size baking dish easier.