mattersoftaste.com.au

Our Mac ‘n Cheese

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Fill a large saucepan with water. Add salt and bring water to the boil. Add macaroni to the boiling water, allow water to come back to the boil, cook pasta as per packet instructions (about 9 minutes). Drain.
3. Meanwhile, cut bacon into ½ cm dice. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large saucepan and fry bacon over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside on absorbent paper.
4. Wipe out any oil from saucepan and make cheese sauce.
5. Heat milk to just below boiling point. Meanwhile, melt butter in (bacon frying) saucepan. When bubbling add flour all at once to make a ‘roux’. Stir for a minute on medium low heat to allow flour to cook, until roux has a sandy texture.
6. Start adding hot milk a little at a time to begin with, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbling before adding any more. As the sauce becomes more liquid milk can be added in larger quantities until all has been used. If necessary, use a hand whisk to remove any lumps. Ensure sauce boils before adding next ingredients.
7. Add both grated cheeses, peas, sweetcorn and crisp bacon. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring sauce back to a simmer then remove from heat.
8. Stir macaroni through sauce and tip into 1½ litre capacity oven proof dish.
9. Mix sourdough breadcrumbs with grated cheddar cheese to make crunchy topping. Scatter evenly over surface of macaroni and sprinkle with paprika.
10. Bake macaroni cheese in oven for 15 minutes until cheese sauce is bubbling and top is crunchy and golden.
11. Serve.

COOKS NOTES

• All salt used in our recipes is Murray River Salt Flakes, if using granular salt, cut down amounts accordingly.
• Use a non-stick pan to make white sauce to avoid any catching or sticking and for ease of washing up.
• The tastier the cheese, the tastier the finished dish is.
• Mac’n’ Cheese is better eaten on the day of making. If re-heated it will be ok but somewhat drier as the pasta will continue to absorb the moisture.
• Ensure pasta is well cooked as if not it will continue to absorb more sauce making the dish thick and gluggy.