Mac & Cheese Recipe

The best Mac & Cheese Recipe, gooey, comforting and oh so cheesy, why limit yourself to using one cheese when you can use three.

Ingredients: 

• 75g butter (unsalted if using lots of cheese)
• 125g plain flour
• 1200ml of milk - when cooking / baking, always use full fat milk
• 1 tbsp mustard (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic (optional)
• 200g Comté, grated
• 200g Mayfield, grated
• 200g Quickes Vintage Cheddar, grated (for veggie alternatives head to our vegetarian collection)
• 800g Pasta, macaroni or shells are best

Suggested accompaniments - Butternut squash, sage and prosciutto or you can keep it classic with just cheese.

Method: 

1. First we start by making a roux (a great base for so many dishes!) using the butter, flour and milk.
2. Add the butter into a pan over a medium heat and once melted add in the flour. Give this a stir and let the flour ‘cook out’. If in any dish you can taste the flour, this means it’s not been cooked. 
3. Once both come together into a ball, add in the milk gently bit by bit (similar to risottos), until the ball turns into a thick paste. You want to do this slowly so you get a smooth sauce with no lumps! You can heat / flavour the milk etc. but can use cold as long as you pour in gently. Let the milk absorb bit by bit. This will get you the nice creamy consistency you’re looking for. This can take around 20 minutes. Now you’ve made your roux.
4. Time for the CHEESE! And any flavours you might like to add - I add lots of garlic, wholegrain mustard - anything you fancy.
5. Grate the cheese, I’ve used 600g of a mix of (cheeses here) and keep around a third for the topping and stir two thirds in.
6. Whilst making the sauce, pop a pan of salted water on to pre cook the pasta, not fully as will go into the oven too so just al dente - this is mac and cheese but you can use any pasta, the really big shells or tubes are a favourite in our house!
7. Stir the pasta into the sauce, so you can get it all in between the pasta and pockets of sauce rather than just on top. Pop into a baking dish and now to add more cheese on top and more toppings if you wish. Into the oven around 180 degrees for around 20 minutes or until all bubbly and golden.
8. I like to serve ours with a tomato salad and some leaves to cut through all the richness. Bon appetite!

Some good flavour combos for those autumn nights are Butternut squash, sage and prosciutto. You can cook the squash in with the pasta or add sage and prosciutto in the last 10 minutes of cooking