Macaroni cheese is a great meal to cook for the family in winter. The generous amount of baked cheese that top the dish gives off a crunchy contrast to the creamy and soft macaroni as you dig deep into the dish. This version is the best I’ve baked so far as I’ve added a further twist to the dish which I’ll reveal later. So without further ado…
Ingredients
2 cups macaroni
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 cups milk
1 cup grated vintage cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese for layering and topping
pepper
cayenne pepper
1 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 sprig parsley, chopped
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water till al dente. Drain pasta and set aside to cool.
3. In the meantime cook onions till caramalised. Set them aside.
4. Melt butter in a separate pot over low heat.
5. Add flour and whisk the mixture for 1 min while it is cooking.
6. Add grated vintage cheese and parsley to the mixture and continue to whisk.
7. Remove the pot from the heat, add and whisk milk.
8. Add pepper to taste.
9. Return the pot to heat the mixture and increase the heat slightly. Continue to whisk the mixture till it thickens and boils. Remove the mixture from the heat and set it aside.
10. Layer onions, tomatoes and macaroni one on top of each other in a greased baking dish. A tip to note is to add shredded cheese to separate each macaroni layer so that the cheese penetrates into the dish.
11. Pour the sauce evenly into the layers.
12. Top with a layer of shredded cheese and sprinkle cayenne pepper for added taste.
13. Place the dish in the oven for 50 minutes.
Serve while it’s hot and fresh from the oven. The grated vintage cheese and parsley added to the sauce has given an extra flavour to the dish – fresh and cheesy at the same time. That’s the secret to baking good old macaroni cheese with some creativity. And layering cheese with the macaroni works well too. For some crispy crunch with zest, cayenne pepper sprinkled on the cheese topping works best. Oh la lah….enjoy!!!!