Category: Comfort Food, Mid Week Meals, Pasta Night
Cooking Method: Oven Baked
Yields:
6 Servings
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 Mins
Cook Time:
30 Mins
Total Time:
45 Mins
This is such a tasty version of macaroni cheese – one of my childhood favourites. Mature Cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyere cheeses, pancetta, cherry tomatoes and garlic & herb breadcrumbs… delicious!
Ingredients
Adjust Servings
-
For the cheese sauce
- For the macaroni
- For the topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C/Gas 6.
- For the cheese sauce, melt the butter over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 3-4 minutes (don’t let the mixture turn brown).
- Add a splash of milk to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Continue to heat and stir, gradually add more milk until a smooth sauce has formed. Add any of the remaining milk and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the cheddar & Gruyere cheese, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and season to taste.
- For the pasta, melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the pancetta and the shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes until the pancetta starts to go crispy. Add the cooked macaroni, cherry tomatoes and the pre-prepared cheese sauce. You may need to add a little more milk to loosen the sauce if it is too thick. The sauce should coat the macaroni not drown it. Pour the macaroni into an oven proof dish.
- For the topping, place the garlic and bread into a food processor and blitz, then add the parsley and pulse until all combined, add the Parmesan and mix together. Now scatter it over the macaroni cheese.
- Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the bread crumbs are golden brown and the cheese sauce is bubbling. Enjoy!
Notes
Experiment by using a variety of cheeses, why not try some dolcelatte. You can substitute the shallots for a leek. Add a bit of spice with a sprinkle or 2 of cayenne pepper.