Mac & Cheese
Jack
November 22, 2023
Reviews
Ingredients:
Adjust Servings
| 250g dried macaroni | |
| 60g butter | |
| 30g plain flour | |
| 170ml whole milk | |
| 270ml single cream | |
| 240g mature cheddar cheese | |
| 120g gruyere cheese | |
| 1tsp smoked paprika | |
| 1tsp salt | |
| 1tsp ground black pepper | |
| 100g panko breadcrumbs | |
| Fresh parsley, to garnish |
Directions
1.
Preparation
Pre-heat your oven to 160°C (fan assisted). Grease a pie dish or oven dish with butter or non-stick spray. Grate and combine your cheeses - one third is going into the cheese sauce, one third is going to be stirred through the pasta, and one third is going to be used for the panko topping.
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2.
Cook the pasta
Boil your pasta in a pot of salted water until a tad short of al dente -- one or two minutes less than the package directions. I normally aim for 10 minutes once my water is back at a rolling boil after adding pasta. Drain with a colander and leave to cool.
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3.
Building a mournay sauce
While your pasta is cooking, you can tackle the sauce. Melt butter in a saucepan until foaming. Add flour and whisk or stir with a spatula until combined to a paste (a roux), and cook for 1-2 minutes on medium heat until the smell of raw flour dissipates. As soon as you add liquid, make sure you don't stop stirring or whisking! Keep it moving.
Add half of the milk and combine. Add the rest of the milk and cream and continue gently whisking until your sauce (now evolved into a béchamel) has a consistency similar to condensed milk. It should be thick and coat the back of a spoon, and should be nice and smooth. Add one third of your combined cheese mix (120g) and whisk until fully melted and the sauce is smooth. Add your smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, stir to finally combine, and take off the heat.
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4.
Line the dish
Add your drained pasta back to the pan, and pour over the mournay sauce. Stir to combine (you may want to put it on a low heat, you may not need to) and then pour half of this mix into the dish you buttered or oiled earlier. Add half of your remaining cheese (120g) as a middle layer, and then top with the remainder of the cheesy pasta.
Combine the remaining cheese (120g) with the panko breadcrumbs, season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, and then evenly coat the top of the pasta with the panko mix. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the panko is toasted and firmed up. Garnish with fresh parsley and black pepper, and pray for the poor lactose intolerant souls within a one mile radius of your oven.
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