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🙏 Bless this highly nutritious (non) microwaveable macaroni and cheese dinner, and the people who sold it on sale. 🙏 Sorry folks, this is a bit longer than the boxed stuff, and it's not on sale, but hopefully you will get to actually eat it without any interruptions from burglars....
Question... have you ever had a mac and cheese where the pasta was all mushy and it was quite dry with barely any sauce? Yeah, same girl. It sucks. The biggest culprit for this is low quality pasta, that has been speedily dried at a high temperature. It cooks unevenly, doesn't hold onto sauce well, doesn't retain it's bite, and it has a bad habit of absorbing any liquid it's sat in, and turning to sludge. That's why you end up with a mac and cheese that is miraculously mushy and dry all at the same time.
The answer... a quality slow dried pasta. Slow dried pasta cooks more evenly, holding its shape (and bite) better. It's so easy to overcook the noods in a baked pasta dish, but quality pastas tend to have a higher protein content, which means they don't turn to mush when cooked. As if that isn't enough, they're also easier to digest. These pros obviously come with a price tag, so it isn't for every day of the week, but if you're throwing a dinner party and it's the star ingredient of the main course, it's worth splashing out on.
To make this hosting friendly, you can do most of the leg work ahead of time, by par-cooking the pasta, making the sauce, and assembling in your baking vessel. Then, just throw it in the oven to bake before serving. But, be sure to assemble your bake once both the pasta and the sauce are cooled. This is will stop the pasta from rapidly absorbing the sauce as it sits, making everything too dry. You can use whatever baking dish(es) you have to hand, but we do love the aesthetic of an individual portion in a small skillet.
*PSA: Before we begin, we must insist that you grate your own cheese... We don't like pre-grated cheese anyway here at Bite Club, but when the word cheese is in the title of a dish, then we really gotta put our foot down. Pre-grated cheese is coated in an anti-caking agent (that's the powdery stuff that gets all over your fingers) which stops it from clumping and getting stuck together in the bag. Unfortunately, it also affects the way the cheese melts, and it can result in a grainy mac and cheese, no thanks.
So, in short, use good pasta and grate your own cheese.
(That could have saved everyone some time).
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
300g pasta
600ml milk
400g cheese (I like 50/50 cheddar/gruyere)
50g flour
50g butter
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
TOPPING
20g panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp melted butter
⅛ tsp paprika
10g parmesan (grated, optional)
TO SERVE
Chopped chives
METHOD
Start by grating all your cheese* and pop aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, then add in your pasta and cook for 2-3 mins less than the package instructions. Then drain, mix through a tbsp of oil to prevent sticking, and keep aside.
In a large pot, on a medium heat, melt the butter, then add the flour, garlic powder and paprika and cook for a couple of mins to bloom the spices, and cook out the flour.
Slowly pour in the milk, whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Bring to a simmer, and stirring constantly, cook for around 5 mins until slightly thickened. and coats the back of a spoon.
Turn off the heat, add in the dijon mustard and half of the grated cheese, pop on the lid and put aside for a few mins to melt the cheese (This prevents a grainy sauce).
Mix the drained, par-cooked pasta in with the sauce, and toss to coat. Place into one large, or four individual sized baking dishes or skillets, and top with the remaining cheese.
Mix the breadcrumbs with the butter, paprika and optional grated parmesan, and sprinkle evenly over the pasta.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C / 160°C fan for 20-25 mins until bubbling and golden brown on top. (You may wish to grill for the final couple of minutes to broil the top).
Leave to cool for a few minutes before serving, sprinkled with chopped fresh chives.
