Best Mac & Cheese Recipe

I don’t know about you but this freezing weather makes me want to stay in bed and forget about the day. But we all know that isn’t an actual possibility, I’d spend 3 months of the year hiding from the cold if I did that!

You think I’d be more used to it being from up north, I’m what we would call nesh, meaning ‘unusually susceptible to cold weather’!

All I want to eat is warm comforting carbs, preferably in bed! I have a few trusty staples, veggie lasagna (<- click for recipe) is one of my firm favourites as is mushroom risotto (recipe to come on that one). But my love affair with mac and cheese started young, with the Heinz version in a can. Don’t judge you know it’s amazing gooey cheesiness. On toast, yeah I know double carbs, mental, it was one of my favourite lunches growing up!

So you have probably gathered I love cooking from first principles and making my favourites as flavour filled and healthy as possible. So step up the best mac & cheese recipe ever!

I haven’t had it for ages (it doesn’t really work in hot countries) and woke up craving it Sunday morning. I actually had all the ingredients in my fridge/cupboards, including some epic cheese from the Christmas cheeseboard! I added some fresh herbs and boom it was exactly what I wanted, warm gooey cheesy carbs, with crunchy bread crumb top.

So if you’re after some delicious mac and cheese, that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, give the recipe a whirl.

Mac and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

500g Pasta, I use wholemeal and it still tastes great!

50g butter

50g plain flour

250ml milk

200g mature cheddar

100g parmesan cheese

100g blue cheese

1 tsp mustard

black pepper to season

For the top

Bread crumbs

1 stalk rosemary 1 stalk thyme, leaves removed and finely chopped

100g cheese

Method

prep >15 mins bake > 25 mins  200 ºc 180 ºc Fan gas mark 6

1. Put the pasta in boiling salted water and cook to the instructions on the packet.
2. Whilst the pasta cooks melt the butter in a skillet and add the flour, cook for 3 mins on a medium heat until it becomes darker in colour.
3. Add the milk slowly, using a whisk to make sure everything becomes smooth.
4. Add the cheese and stir until thick, if too thick add a drop more milk or if too thin add a bit more cheese.
5. Drain the pasta and combine with the cheese in an ovenproof dish, I use a 23cm square baking dish
6. mix the bread crumbs and fresh herbs together then sprinkle evenly over the top
7. Add the cheese and place in the oven to brown for around 25 mins.
8. Let it cool for 5 mins before serving.

Other recipes can be found here