How to make macaroni cheese

You’d think everyone would know how to make macaroni cheese wouldn’t you? Not so. In fact for a lot of British people it wasn’t a dish they grew up with, unless it came out of a Heinz tin. However, it’s gained cult status in recent years and never fails to get oohs and ahhs, so it’s well worth knowing how to make it simply and unctuously.

Macaroni cheese, or Mac ‘n’ cheese to call it it’s American name, is a real comfort food, it’s all about the creaminess and cheesiness, it has no sides to it.

It’s something to eat every now and then rather than every week but that just makes it taste even better.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Servings: 2-3

Ingredients

200g of macaroni
750ml of whole milk
50g plain flour
2 tbsp of butter
175g of extra mature cheddar
100g Gruyere
125g mozzarella
1 level teaspoon of Dijon mustard
sea salt
sourdough breadcrumbs

Instructions

Cook the macaroni in a large pan of salted boiling water until ‘al dente’.

Meanwhile make the sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan then adding the flour and using a small hand whisk to form a paste. Cook that over a medium heat for a minute or two then add the mustard and milk, whisking all the time. Now stir with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

Add all the cheese plus a pinch of sea salt to taste, stir until the cheese has fully melted.

Combine the drained pasta and sauce and pour into an ovenproof dish, top with some more cheese and the breadcrumbs.

Bake at 190 degrees centigrade for around 25 mins. Don’t bake for too long or the sauce will all disappear into the pasta.

Serve with a crisp salad.

Nutrition Info

Cheese

Cheese is not only gorgeous to eat but provides some important nutrients including phosphorus, calcium and vitamin B12. Phosphorus forms part of every one of our cells, so is pretty important! It’s actually quite abundant in the diet so you don’t have to OD on cheese – sorry 🙂

Calcium is not only good for teeth and bones but helps to balance the PH of the blood as well as assisting with nerve signals and muscle function. B12 performs a lot of functions but its main claim to fame is red blood cell production.

The pasta provides carbohydrate for energy, so this is perfect the night before or just after hard exercise.

Find your new natural

Learn how to weave food like this into a joyful healthy diet with our weekly meal plans.

You are the cheese to my macaroni.

Portion Guidelines

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