MAC CHEESE

 

What could be easier to make, and more comforting to eat, than a generous helping of gooey Mac Cheese accompanied by a crisp green salad and a glass of red? I can't think of anything!

Feeds 4

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Ingredients

500 g dry (preferably Italian) macaroni

salt

50g butter

2 tbsp plain flour

200ml milk (approx)

lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

lots of freshly grated sharp Cheddar or Gruyere

large dollop of cream cheese (optional but does add a lovely richness)

freshly ground nutmeg to taste

a dash of cayenne pepper

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

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Method

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add about 1 tbsp salt. Toss in macaroni and cook to packet instructions until al dente (still a bit firm). Drain macaroni and set aside. (I rinse mine under fresh running water but you don't have to.)

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In another heavy pot, melt butter over low heat and add flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until you have a thick paste. Slowly add your milk (some people like to heat the milk but I don't bother) stirring all the time. Now you have what's called a béchamel sauce. Add 3/4 of both hard cheeses, spoonful by spoonful until cheese has melted perfectly into your sauce. Place remaining cheese to one side. Add cream cheese and stir in until that too has melted. Season with nutmeg, cayenne pepper, sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper (I love Sarawak black pepper but that's because I live here, plus it's the BEST) to taste.

 

Spoon your macaroni into an ovenproof dish (I use my grandmother's old earthenware one) and add the cheese sauce. Lightly mix into the macaroni. Scatter the remaining cheese evenly over the top and bake in your preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until the top is beautifully browned and luscious-looking.

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That's all there is to it! Yum, just writing this is making me hungry....it's time for breakfast (7am here). See ya

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