recipe road test: mac 'n' cheese

 

A while ago Jeff from C for Cooking left a link to his brilliant macaroni and cheese recipe on my Recipe Carousel: Pasta.

Jonas and I were immediately hungry with desire so Jonas soon made it and we enjoyed the best darn macaroni and cheese we’ve both ever eaten.

Since today is a mac n cheese off, as designated by Kevin at Seriously Good, what better excuse for posting my Recipe Road Test today? Along with CookieCrumb from I'm Mad and I Eat, Kevin has invited everyone to post their own mac n cheese recipes.

Join in the fun!

Mac & Cheese

Recipe posted by Jeff from C for Cooking. Serves 4.
 
Ingredients:
230g freshly cooked macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
½ cup onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon paprika
350g sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh black pepper
1 cup panko (breadcrumbs)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180’C
2. Add flour, butter, mustard powder and stir for 5 minutes to make a nice roux.
3. Now add the onion, milk, bay leaf, paprika, black pepper and salt then whisk out any lumps. Bring sauce to simmer and leave for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the bayleaf then stir in ¾ of the cheese and then the macaroni.
5. Pour into a baking dish and top with remaining cheese then panko.
6. Bake for 30 minutes then rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Our variations:
1. Sautéed the onion before adding it to the mixture.
2. Also added two crushed garlic cloves and fried these with the onion.
3. Added a sprinkling of cayenne pepper.
4. We omitted the breadcrumbs for a healthier (if that’s possible) version.
5. We used parmesan cheese as well as the cheddar. It gives a nice, salty bite.
6. We increased the amount of paprika (using both sweet and smokey) and added a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard.

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes pasta mac-n-cheese mac-n-cheese-off macaroni and cheese cheese macaroni recipe road test