info

• About 45 minutes
• 4 servings

ingredients

• 300g dried macaroni
• 30g butter
• 25g flour
• 500ml milk
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 200g mature cheddar grated
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dried breadcrumbs

steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200C Fan.
2. Cook the macaroni until it’s a bit less done than normal – a couple of minutes less than you would usually do.
3. While the macaroni is cooking, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan on a low heat. When the butter is foaming, add the flour and stir until it’s mixed in, then keep cooking for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Very gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Make sure each bit of milk is incorporated before adding the next bit. If you do this slowly on a very low heat, you should end up with a perfectly smooth cheese sauce with no lumps and no need to whisk.
5. When all the milk is incorporated, add the mustard powder, salt and pepper. Then add half the cheese, stir to combine and turn off.
6. When the pasta is done, drain it, retaining a little bit of the cooking water.
7. Tip the pasta and a couple of tablespoonfuls of the cooking water into the cheese sauce and stir.
8. Pour the macaroni cheese into a shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the remaining cheese and dried breadcrumbs.
9. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes. The top should be brown but the bottom should still be saucy and the macaroni should be perfectly cooked.