Mac & Cheese
This cheesy treat is fit for a main course or as a side dish on the dinner table. It’s a great addition to a celebration spread or to amp up a regular weeknight meal. The combination of short ribbed pasta and that cheese sauce ensures a perfect spoonful with every bite.
Equipment
- Sauce pot
- Sauté pan
- Stock pot
- Strainer
- Spatula
- Whisk
- Tablespoons
- Oven proof dish
Ingredients
Pasta
- 250 gm Pasta
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 2 cups Pasta water (saved after boiling)
Sauce
- 1 Onion (grated)
- 3 nos Garlic grated
- 250 ml Milk
- 40 gm Butter
- 30 gm Flour
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg powder
- 1 tsp Crushed black pepper
- 1 tbsp Mustard
- 1 tsp Tomato paste
- ¼ tsp Paprika
- 30 gm Cream cheese
- 50 gm Cheddar (grated)
- 75 gm Mozzarella (cubed)
- 20 gm Parmesan (grated)
Savory Breadcrumb
- 80 gm Stale bread
- 1 tsp Thyme
- ½ tbsp Crushed black pepper
- 3 tbsp Nuts/Seeds
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- Pinch of Salt
Assembly (optional)
- 3 tbsp Parmesan (grated)
- ½ tsp Crushed black pepper
Serve
- Green salad
Instructions
Pasta
- Start by boiling the pasta in a large stockpot. You need 4 times the amount of water to pasta (4:1 – Water : Pasta ratio). Bring the water to a boil and a generous tablespoon of salt and boil the pasta as per the package (usually 6-8mins).
- Undercook the pasta by 2 mins as it will finish cooking when baked later. Save 2 coffee mugs worth pasta water and drain out the rest.
- Drizzle a little olive oil over the drained pasta and set aside.
Savory Breadcrumbs
- In a blender add all the ingredients except for the olive oil and nuts, blitz to a fine sand like texture.
- In a sauté pan on low heat add the oil and toss in the breadcrumb mixture. Using a spoon constantly stir it until the color has changed and you can get a toast like aroma.
- Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Sauce
- In a saucepot add the butter and let it bubble on low to medium heat. Add the grated onions and garlic and sweat until translucent.
- Add the flour and stir. It will look pasty at this stage. Cook for a couple of minutes until you get the aroma of a baked biscuit (this means the flour has been cooked out)
- Add the milk a little at a time and constantly whisk over the heat ensuring the flame is not high.
- Cook over the heat for 3-4 min until the sauce has thickened, constantly stir the sauce to ensure there are no lumps. It will not be smooth as the onions and garlic is in there.
- At this stage add 1 coffee mug worth of the pasta water into the sauce and whisk until it is smooth. Stir until combined and take it off the heat.
- Add the mustard, tomato paste, paprika, cream cheese and stir.
- Add all the cheese except for the mozzarella cubes into the sauce and stir to combine.
Assembly
- Pour the sauce over the drained pasta, add the mozzarella cubes and stir until everything is mixed well with each other.
- Taste and season with salt and crushed black pepper based on your palate.
- At this stage transfer the mac and cheese to an oven proof dish, sprinkle over the savory breadcrumbs, some more cheese and bake at 180°C for 12-14 mins until the top is crunchy and golden brown.
- Best eaten while it is still hot from the oven.
Notes
PRO TIP:
• A couple of chopped Gerkins, Jalapenos and a splash of white vine vinegar tastes delicious in this recipe
• The breadcrumbs can be made with bacon however, to make you chop the bacon separately, sauté them in their own fat and fry the breadcrumbs in it.
• To make it richer you can increase the cheese content to 250gm for this recipe.
• I like to sprinkle extra cheese on top, using Parmesan for this ensures and crunchy top.
• The breadcrumbs can be made with bacon however, to make you chop the bacon separately, sauté them in their own fat and fry the breadcrumbs in it.
• To make it richer you can increase the cheese content to 250gm for this recipe.
• I like to sprinkle extra cheese on top, using Parmesan for this ensures and crunchy top.