Photo: Theresa Smith

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish, or 2 to 3 as a main dish

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound rigatoni
• 6 ounces braised short rib
• 2 ounces fresh grated horseradish
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped
• Toasted breadcrumbs (optional)

For gruyere béchamel:

• 5 Tbsp. butter
• 4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• 3 cups Gruyère, shredded with a microplane or grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make Gruyère béchamel: Heat butter until melted, add flour and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat until a blonde color (about 7 minutes, should smell like popcorn). In separate pan, heat milk until almost boiling. Add milk to original mixture, 1 cup at a time. Whisk until smooth. Cook an additional 10 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat, season with salt and add Gruyè cheese.

Fold chives, horseradish and short rib into the Gruyère bechamel. Cook the pasta until al dente. Shock the pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process.

Toss the pasta with béchamel and remaining ingredients. Season to taste with black pepper and salt.

Place mixture into an oven-safe dish and cover with olive oil and toasted breadcrumbs (optional). Cover the dish with foil.

Bake for 10 minutes.