Years ago I submitted a recipe to Better Homes & Gardens monthly prize tested recipe contest and was shocked when it was a winner! The recipe was for Tuscan Mac and Cheese, and I developed it as a comforting casserole for a friend who was having surgery.

What made it Tuscan? The recipe was inspired by the book “In Tuscany” by Frances Mayes and the original recipe as sent in to BHG contained Italian Caponata. They tweaked the recipe for publication and removed the Caponata.

What is Caponata? It’s a vegetable side dish/condiment usually made with chopped eggplant, celery, onion, olives and tomatoes or tomato paste sautéed in olive oil and flavored with vinegar. I’ve included it in the recipe here. You can make it yourself or buy a good canned version (there are brands available online if your grocery store doesn’t have it).

I recently received a request from a reader for the original recipe as it seems to have disappeared from the internet, so I sent her a copy and decided to post a new updated version of the Original Tuscan Mac. 

Original Tuscan Mac N Cheese – Updated

1 eight ounce package regular or gluten free dried pasta, cooked and drained according to package directions (subtract 2 minutes from suggested cooking time)

1 to 2 cups cooked, crumbled sweet or hot Italian sausage

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup homemade or canned Caponata

1 cup bread cubes (use gluten free bread if making gluten free version)

1/2 or whole 8 ounce package cream cheese, cut into cubes

2 tablespoons flour, or if making gluten free substitute potato starch

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Pinch freshly ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon minced fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried sage

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups lowfat milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan, Asiago or Romano cheese

Or substitute the “shakeable” parmesan you keep in your fridge for topping pizza and spaghetti, just make sure it’s the pure cheese kind, not the kind with cellulose added.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place cooked and drained pasta and sausage into your oven safe casserole dish. Combine mozzerella cheese, caponata, bread and cream cheese with the pasta in the casserole dish and toss gently.

Heat butter, salt, herbs, spices, and flour or potato starch in a medium saucepan over low heat for 2 minutes. Add the milk and whisk quickly to mix well. Raise heat to medium high while stirring and bring to boil. Boil gently, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until sauce is thickened to consistency of a light pudding.

Pour the sauce over pasta mixture, stirring gently to fully coat.

Top with the 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8.

If you need a substitution for the Caponata, try pitted olives, capers and mushrooms with or without some marinated or sun dried tomatoes. Skip the sausage if you’re going meatless. If you’re trying to cut down on fat, substitute chicken or turkey sausage and use part skim mozzarella and low fat cream cheese.

You can also simplify the recipe by making the sauce in a large saucepan and adding the cooked pasta, sausage, caponata, and cheeses to the sauce and serving it as Stovetop Tuscan Mac.