Recipe uploaded by

7 ratings

Recipe by Angela Nilsen

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - 3 issues for £3

Tested

Leave a comment or rate this recipe

1. Making macaroni cheese is a bit of a juggling act, so it's easier if you get a few things prepared ahead. Finely grate all the cheeses, keeping them separate. Tear the bread into pieces and whizz in a food processor to coarse crumbs. Mix 25g of the cheddar and one-third of the parmesan into the breadcrumbs. Toss the rest of the cheeses together and set aside. Thickly slice the tomatoes. Butter a dish, about 30 x 20 x 5.5cm. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.
2. Put a pan of water on to boil. Tip the macaroni into the boiling water, stir and bring it back to the boil. Simmer for 8 mins, or cook according to pack instructions, stirring occasionally to stop it sticking. While this is cooking, start the sauce.
3. Warm the milk in a jug in the microwave (or in a pan). Melt the butter in a pan (big enough to take the macaroni as well), then stir in the flour. Cook for 1 min, stirring, then take off the heat. Pour in one-third of the warm milk and beat well with a wooden spoon until smooth - it is quite thick at this stage. Add another third - it may go a bit lumpy, but keep beating well and it will go smooth again. Pour in the final third of milk and keep beating until smooth.
4. When the macaroni is done, tip it into a colander and put it briefly under very hot running water to keep it separate. Drain. Put the pan of sauce back on the heat and cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Lower the heat and simmer for about 4 mins until glossy, stirring every now and then. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and mustard, then beat in 5 tbsp milk, or enough to give a slack coating consistency. Taste and season (you shouldn't need much salt). If the macaroni is sticking at all, put it under the hot tap again, then stir to separate. Drain well, then gently mix it into the sauce and stir to coat completely. If necessary, adjust the consistency again with milk. There should be enough sauce to coat the macaroni thickly and liberally.
5. Tip the macaroni cheese into the buttered dish, scatter over the cheesy crumbs and lay the tomatoes casually over the top. Heat through in the oven for 12-15 mins until beginning to bubble around the edges. Grill for 3-5 mins to brown the crumbs. Let it all settle for 1-2 mins, then serve while still piping hot.

Per serving

819 kcalories, protein 36g, carbohydrate 78g, fat 42 g, saturated fat 26g, fibre 3g, salt 2.03 g

Latest comments and suggestions

• Patto

  07 November 2007

  Patto rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Quite involved preparation, but well worth the effort. Next time i make this i am going to add another layer of tomatoes in the middle for more sweetness against the strong cheeses. Definitely a winner though.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• Gemma Russell

  24 January 2008

  Gemma Russell commented on this recipe

  Definitely worth the preparation, nice for a chance, I would make this again!

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• BARBARA

  01 February 2008

  BARBARA rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This was a lovely dish and one i would make again.. I used the cheeses i had in my fridge which was a mature cheddar and some blue cheese and also added some cooked leeks and mushrooms. I adapted the amount of ingredients and served this to 9 hungry people and they all came back for seconds.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• hilary buff

  08 March 2008

  hilary buff rated and commented on this recipe

  

  the mustard is the key thing here! before this i was always confused as to why my macaroni cheese didn't have a strong kick but the mustard brings it. you can't taste it but it brings out the cheesy flavours! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• tettinx

  02 April 2008

  tettinx commented on this recipe

  Added some taleggio for those cheesy wires!

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• Girl Flower

  08 August 2008

  Girl Flower rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I have made this following the ingredients exactly but I can see how it can easily be changed slightly to good effect. I will be making this again though its not an ideal mid-week dinner as it is quite a lot of effort. I liked BARBARAS idea and will add leeks next time too!

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• sally

  25 August 2008

  sally rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I thought this was a very simple dish and very tasty even though I only used a fraction of the amount of cheese, I just couldn't bring myself to add so much and to be honest it really didn't need that much.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• mel

  07 October 2008

  mel rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I thought this recipe was going to be quite hard but i fount it easy i done everything the recipe said and it came out great my family loved it i will be making this again.

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:
• Pariss

  11 October 2008

  Pariss rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I used some leftover crusty brown bread for my topping and added crispy bacon to the pasta mix. Absolutely gorgeous! will definately make again and again..

  Flag as inappropriate

  Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  Your name: Reason:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1790/

Your binder

• Register
• Sign in
• More info

Save your favourite recipes; add, rate and comment on recipes. Plus, get our newsletter.

Ingredients

• 175g mature cheddar , such as Denhay
• 50g gruyère
• 50g parmesan
• 50g white bread , crusts cut off
• 3 medium tomatoes
• 280g good-quality macaroni
• 700ml full-fat milk , plus a bit extra
• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour , minus 1 tsp
• 1 rounded tsp Dijon mustard

Search Good Food

Keywords

Filter search

Recipes All this site The web

Refine your recipe search

Search filter options

Search by cooking times Less than 10 minutes 10-30 minutes 35-60 minutes Over an hour Search by difficulty Easy Moderately easy For the keen cook Search by cuisine American British Cajun & Creole Caribbean French German Greek Indian Italian Mediterranean Mexican Moroccan Scottish Spanish Swiss Thai Vietnamese Search by course Warm starter Cold starter Main course Side dish Pudding Search by calorie range Less than 200 200-400 400-600 600-800 Over 800 Search by occasion Midweek meal Dinner party Family favourite Birthdays Christmas New Year Mother's Day Chinese New Year Easter Search by chef Good Food Team olive Angela Nilsen Annabel Karmel Anthony Worral Thompson Gary Rhodes Gordon Ramsay James Martin John Torode Ken Hom Lesley Waters Mary Cadogan Merrilees Parker Nick Nairn Orlando Murrin Ruth Watson Silvana Franco Thane Prince Tony Tobin Search by diet Vegetarian Vegan Gluten-free Dairy-free Nut-free Egg-free Low-fat Low in salt Suitable for diabetics Search by magazine BBC Good food olive Search by servings 1 2 4 6 8 For a crowd

Difficulty and servings

Generously, with enough for seconds

Easily doubled

Preperation and cooking times

Prep 40 45 mins

Cook 25 mins

Ingredients

• 175g mature cheddar , such as Denhay
• 50g gruyère
• 50g parmesan
• 50g white bread , crusts cut off
• 3 medium tomatoes
• 280g good-quality macaroni
• 700ml full-fat milk , plus a bit extra
• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour , minus 1 tsp
• 1 rounded tsp Dijon mustard

Per serving

819 kcalories, protein 36g, carbohydrate 78g, fat 42 g, saturated fat 26g, fibre 3g, salt 2.03 g

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

• You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
• You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.
• You can sign up for our weekly newsletter (sent out on Wednesdays) - it's packed with recipes, special offers and competitions.