Macaroni and Cheese

MACARONI CHEESE                                                                                                     Serves 4
Comfort Food – this simple dish is a winner with kids. Our recipe provides for a twist with the juicy cherry tomatoes.

Method 

1. To Cook the Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions until the pasta is ‘al dente’ (with a slight bite to it). Once cooked, drain the pasta and set aside in a warm place.
2. For the White Sauce: Melt butter over a low heat in a medium saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Over a medium heat, gradually add in the milk (whilst constantly scraping the inside edges of the pot to avoid the sauce burning on the base of the pan). Stir constantly until the sauce thickens (or coats the back of a spoon).
3. Add in the mustard, then taste the white sauce and season well with salt (and pepper).
4. Once seasoned, mix the pasta with the white sauce until it’s well coated.
5. Set the grill to high (or preheat an oven to 180C).
6. In a large, deep, ovenproof serving dish, arrange the macaroni cheese as follows: Add half of the sauce covered pasta on the base. Sprinkle half the cheese over the first layer. Then stir most of the remaining cheese (reserve some for the breadcrumbs) through the saucy pasta and add this second layer into the dish.  Lastly top with any remaining cheese (of follow next step for breadcrumb topping).
7. For a breadcrumb topping: combine breadcrumbs with melted butter and 50g grated cheese (and herbs). 
8. Sprinkle over the top of the bake. Place under a grill for 5 minutes for a crisp cheesy crust (or bake in the oven for 20 minutes until bubbling and golden on top).

Cooking Tips

Cheese:
You can use a mix of cheddar and parmesan cheese in the recipe.

Essential Equipment for White Sauce:
1. A small - medium heavy based saucepan
2. A wooden spoon
3. A whisk BUT ONLY USE THE WHISK if the saucepan is stainless steel because a metal whisk will scrape the Teflon from a non stick saucepan.

Add a twist! You can add any of the following to your mac n cheese: Fried bacon lardons, cherry tomatoes, scallions or a cheesy breadcrumb topping.