This mac and cheese recipe is so much better than the orange stuff in the box. It is savoury, creamy and crispy and delicious as well. Serve as is for dinner with maybe a salad if you are trying to be healthy but it also makes a great side dish to some grilled chicken and it is fantastic with the Chrissy Teighan BBQ pulled chicken recipe I posted a while back. It takes a bit more work than the one in the box but it is worth it. You will have to excuse the quality of the photos, photographing with down lights is near impossible.
Ingredients
- 115gm butter
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 80gm plain flour
- salt and pepper
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 350gm macaroni
- 250gm tasty cheese, grated
- Panko bread crumbs (optional)
- Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
Directions
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente (or check the cooking time on the pack). Drain and run under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Drain again.
Heat the butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. Add the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and cook very slowly over low heat until they are very tender but not at all brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mix turns a very light brown about 3 minutes.
Slowly add in the milk, whisking or stirring with a wooden spoon as you add it. It will be quite thick when you first add the milk becoming thinner as you add all the milk. Then stir in the vegetable stock. Increase the heat to medium and continue to whisk or stir constantly. In the next 3-5 minutes the sauce should come together and become silky and thick. Add in the grated cheese, stirring until melted into the sauce.
Taste the sauce for cheese and seasoning, season with salt or pepper, adding more cheese if it isn’t cheesy enough. Add this stage you want it a bit too cheesy as it needs to flavour all that pasta you cooked.
Add the pasta and stir to combine.
You can either serve as is, reheating the pasta gently on a low heat or pour into an oven proof dish and top with bread crumbs and some grated parmesan cheese. You can even dot with some butter or drizzle with olive oil if you want it super crispy.
Refrigerate covered until needed or cook straight away in a preheated 200°c oven. Bake until it is hot and bubbly and the top is golden, about 20 minutes.
Ok, so it’s not exactly heath food but it is a bit of comfort food when you need it….. Let me know if you give this recipe a try. Enjoy. Sheryl x
