Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

Macaroni:

250g / 8 oz macaroni (elbow pasta)

1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter (or 2 tsp oil)

Topping:

2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter , melted

1/4 tsp salt

Sauce:

4 tbsp (60g) unsalted butter

1/3 cup flour , plain / all purpose

3 cups milk , warmed (low or full fat)

2 cups freshly shredded cheese, gruyere best (followed by cheddar and Colby)

1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese , or more other cheese of choice

3/4 tsp salt

Seasonings (Optional):

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp mustard powder

Instructions:

Pasta:

1. Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add macaroni and cook per packet directions MINUS 1 minute.
2. Toss in butter: Drain, return pasta to pot, add butter and toss until melted. Set aside to cool while making the Sauce

Topping:

1. Mix together Topping. Set aside.

Sauce:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
2. Make roux: In a large saucepan or in an ovenproof skillet (I use my 26cm/9″ Lodge cast iron skillet), melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
3. Add milk: Add about 1 cup of the milk and mix to dissolve the paste into the milk. Then add remaining milk and mix until lump free (use whisk if required).
4. Add Seasonings: Mix in salt and Seasonings if using.
5. Thicken sauce: Cook, stirring/whisking regularly, for 5 – 8 minutes until thickened to a cream consistency. When the Sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon, you should be able to draw a path with your finger.
6. Add cheese: Remove from stove, add cheese and stir – cheese doesn’t need to melt.
7. Check salt: Adjust salt to taste (if you use recommended cheeses, you won’t need more).

Assembling:

1. Assemble: Pour Sauce into pot with Macaroni. Stir quickly, then pour back into the skillet (I did this) or a baking dish (Note 4). Sprinkle with breadcrumb topping.
2. Bake for 25 minutes or until top is light golden. Don’t bake too long otherwise you’ll bake away the Sauce!
3. Serve: Serve immediately! I sprinkled mine with a bit of fresh parsley.

TIPS AND NOTES!

1. Panko breadcrumbs are larger pieces than normal breadcrumbs which creates a really nice extra crunchy topping. It can be found in the Asian section of supermarkets here in Australia. Can sub with normal breadcrumbs.
2. Cheese

• • Main Cheese (2 cups) – my favourite is gruyere (used in video), for flavour and melting quality. Can use any flavoured melting cheese. Other cheeses I like for this include: cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, provolone. (Australia/NZ: Tasty cheese works & super tasty but sauce is not quite as smooth);
  • I like to use mozzarella for the 2nd cheese (1 cup). It melts really well into the sauce, has that nice stretch, and isn’t as oily like other cheese can tend to be. Also, it’s less salty. However, you can just use more of the Main Cheese.
  • Always grate your own cheese for cheese sauces. Store bought shredded cheese have anti caking agents which don’t melt so can give the sauce a slight powdery texture.
  • SALTINESS of cheeses vary so if you use another cheese other than gruyere for the Main Cheese that is much less salty (eg Jarlsberg), you may need to add a pinch or two of extra salt into the sauce. Taste and check! Most cheeses are of similar salt levels though.

3. Tossing pasta with butter provides a light coating that helps prevent it from bloating while baking in the sauce. This is also the reason why I let the pasta cool before mixing in with the sauce. Optional step – can skip it.
4. Baking dish size – 2.5L/2.5qt (10 cup) baking dish. A 9 x 13″ / 23 x 33 dish is perfect for a double batch, a little too big for a single batch (spreads too thinly, you want more depth).
5. PREPARE AHEAD: Mac and Cheese is best made fresh but if you need to make ahead, this is the best way: Cook pasta and toss in butter, cool (this is important as hot pasta will absorb sauce and bloat). Make cheese sauce per recipe, mix through pasta, sprinkle on breadcrumb topping. Refrigerate or freeze (thaw fully in fridge before baking). Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes at 180°C/350°F. Remove foil then bake further 25 minutes until top is golden. (Fridge cold Mac & Cheese takes longer to bake).

REHEATING LEFTOVERS: Best way is to microwave to make warm then spray top with oil (or butter) and crisp under grill/broiler.

This article originally appeared in the February 2022 edition of The Nazareth, Volume XCIV, No. 2.