Macaroni cheese in 4 easy steps

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Good Food

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Recipe by Good Food

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1. Prepare the pasta: In a small pan, warm the milk, onion, garlic and bay leaf until almost boiling. Remove from the heat, leave covered to infuse for 10 mins, then strain. Cook the macaroni according to pack instructions until just soft, but still with a little bite (this is called al dente in Italian). This will take about 10 mins. Drain in a colander, then run under the tap and stir to stop the pasta sticking together.
2. Make a roux: (A roux is simply flour and fat, cooked together, then used to thicken sauces.) Heat oven to 190C/ fan 170C/gas 5 and butter a 25 x 18cm ovenproof dish. Melt the butter in the medium pan. When foaming, add the flour, then cook, stirring constantly, for 1 min on a low heat.
3. Finish the sauce: Slowly stir the warm infused milk into the roux until smooth. Simmer for 3-4 mins, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened and has a coating consistency (run your finger through the sauce on a spoon - it should leave a trail). Remove the pan from the heat, then add the cheddar and mustard powder. Season, then stir until the cheese has melted.
4. Assemble and bake: Mix the cheesesauce through the macaroni to coat it well, then tip into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan and breadcrumbs over the top, then bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown and bubbling. Serve piping hot on its own or with a green salad.
5. EQUIPMENT: 1 small saucepan with lid, 1 large saucepan, 1 medium saucepan, colander, chopping board, sharp knife, grater, wooden spoon, ovenproof dish

Creamy veg

Gently fry some leeks and mushrooms in a little butter, then stir into the pasta along with sauce. Top with a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes instead of using Parmesan and breadcrumbs.

Per serving

860 kcalories, protein 36g, carbohydrate 97g, fat 40 g, saturated fat 24g, fibre 4g, salt 1.72 g

Latest comments and suggestions

• Mineke

  04 March 2008

  Mineke rated and commented on this recipe

  

  mmmmmmm....

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• Kirstie

  06 March 2008

  Kirstie rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This looked a bit too heavy so I swapped to semi-skimmed milk and lower fat cheese and added sweetcorn, brocoli and peppers for an all-in-one dinner. The dish was scraped clean!

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• harvest

  26 March 2008

  harvest commented on this recipe

  An old favourite that has been 'messed about with'. Macaroni cheese doesn't need onion, garlic and bayleaf. If a macaroni cheese is done well it really doesn't need tweaking.

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• pboropixie

  28 March 2008

  pboropixie rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I made this but added some fried, cubed pancetta. It was very good - it seems that this is a recipe that you could keep tweaking depending on what you have in your fridge to make it seem like several different dishes.

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• gemcheat

  14 April 2008

  gemcheat rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Very tasty! Becomes a bit stodgy if not eaten straight away.

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• Scrummy!

  18 April 2008

  Scrummy! rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This is a really receipe to make, and I add broccoli and bacon for a balanced meal.

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• Rosalie

  29 April 2008

  Rosalie rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Yummy, but I think I'll use more cheese next time.

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• Coco

  30 April 2008

  Coco commented on this recipe

  mmmmmmm delicous

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• Coco

  01 May 2008

  Coco rated this recipe

  

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• Al Rivers

  15 June 2008

  Al Rivers rated and commented on this recipe

  

  mmmmmmmmm... very nice recipe. Use 50 grams of butter, not 5 grams.

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• Lesley

  18 September 2008

  Lesley rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Yum! Added broccoli and bacon as suggested above. Also used red onion cos that's what i had - kids were v disappointed sauce wasn't pink!

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• Jackieann

  23 September 2008

  Jackieann commented on this recipe

  Is the quantity for butter correct 5g? Isn't a roux mix usually more equable?

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• Janie

  24 September 2008

  Janie commented on this recipe

  Lovely!! Should be 50g of butter though!

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• Sarah

  05 October 2008

  Sarah rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Yep the old 5g of butter instead of 50g trick caught me out too! Thanks Good Food! I fed this to four hungry and active teenagers, plus a passing grazing husband and got thumbs up all round. Will do again for certain.

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• JANE

  06 October 2008

  JANE commented on this recipe

  Agree with 'Harvest's comment - Mac cheese doesn't need onion or garlic and an alternative to a thick stodgy sauce is to just add 300ml natural yoghurt with your cheese to the fresh-cooked pasta,top with breadcrumbs and bake for 30 mins,seasoned well with just pepper [enough salt in the cheese],you don't have to spoil it with continental flavours,adding some bacon/smoked bacon will lift the flavour and leave it palatable for small children as well!

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• Frantic Flapjack

  24 October 2008

  Frantic Flapjack rated and commented on this recipe

  

  This was gorgeous. Very tasty. One of the best recipes I have tried. Added some sweetcorn with red peppers.

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• Pixi

  29 October 2008

  Pixi commented on this recipe

  Just a note for those who are trying to feed vegetarian guests and family members, although this recipe has the green veggie V please note that Parmesan is NOT vegetarian. You can buy alternative 'Parmesan' made for vegetarians. This is a good site to see what cheeses are available for vegetarians. http://cheese.joyousliving.com/Default.aspx

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• marcusb

  13 November 2008

  marcusb rated this recipe

  

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• AEJ

  19 November 2008

  AEJ rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Really tasty. Also found that the 5g of butter for the roux was a lie! Put in 50g instead. I as dubious about bothering with the bay leaf and the onion in the milk to start, but it made such a delicious difference!!!!!! Really tasty, and easy to make. yumyum.

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• icelesley

  Today

  icelesley rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I made the sauce quite thin, but the end dish has thickned up. I also put some veg in and served with bacon and roasted cherry tomatoes, very satisfying on a cold evening.

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Ingredients

• 700ml full-fat milk
• 1 onion , peeled and halved
• 1 garlic clove , peeled
• 1 bay leaf
• 350g macaroni
• 5g butter , plus a little extra for greasing
• 50g plain flour
• 175g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 50g parmesan , grated
• 50g coarse white breadcrumbs

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 4

Preperation and cooking times

Prep 15 mins

Cook 30 mins

Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 700ml full-fat milk
• 1 onion , peeled and halved
• 1 garlic clove , peeled
• 1 bay leaf
• 350g macaroni
• 5g butter , plus a little extra for greasing
• 50g plain flour
• 175g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 50g parmesan , grated
• 50g coarse white breadcrumbs

Per serving

860 kcalories, protein 36g, carbohydrate 97g, fat 40 g, saturated fat 24g, fibre 4g, salt 1.72 g

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