Hi everyone and welcome back
Today’s recipe is the ultimate comfort food and that is mac and cheese.
It’s an old favourite of mine that I love to make, it’s great as a side dish, or just
eating it on it’s own so to learn how to make it just keep watching.
To make the mac and cheese we’re starting off with a béchamel sauce, or another name
for it a white sauce, then we’re going to add cheese.
So to make the sauce we need to make a roux out of equal amounts butter and flour.
This is what will be the thickening agent in the sauce.
Add the butter to a saucepan and heat over medium heat to melt.
While we’re waiting for the butter to melt, measure out the flour into a small bowl.
Sprinkle over the melted butter and begin to mix the two ingredients together with a
wooden spoon until the flour is well incorporated.
It should turn into a sort of paste like consistency.
Cook out the roux for a few minutes to develop a some flavour, stirring a few times.
While the roux is cooking measure out the milk.
I prefer to use whole milk in this recipe as it gives the sauce a lot more of a creamy
taste but if you did want to you can use skim.
Pour it into a jug or something with a spaut that so it can be poured easily into a the
saucepan.
Start by pouring a small amount of milk into the saucepan.
It will bubble up but start stirring with the wooden spoon until it smoothes out and
the milk absorbs in.
And then simply repeat until you have used up the remaining milk.
Pouring the milk in a small amount at a time reduces getting lumps in the sauce.
If your sauce does become lumpy just keep it on the heat and keep stirring and they
should dissolve.
You can switch to using a whisk if thats easier.
Keep the sauce on the heat, stirring occasionally while we prepare the cheese and the macaroni.
I’m using two different type of cheeses for this recipe.
You can use whatever type you would like, depending on what flavour you like.
I am using a cheddar cheese to give the sauce a lot of flavour and also mozzarella because
it’s great melted over the top.
Grate the cheeses and set aside.
In a large pot of boiling water sprinkle in some salt and add the macaroni.
Stir to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom and cook according to the package
instructions, usually about 7 minutes.
If the macaroni is a little bit underdone, don’t worry about it as it will keep cooking
when we put it in the oven.
At this point remove the you béchamel sauce from the heat and leave to cool for a few
minutes before adding the cheese.
When it has cooled start to add the cheese slowly, waiting for the cheese to melt between
each addition.
Adding the cheese all at once when the sauce is too hot can cause it to curdle and separate
and once it does that you basically have to start from scratch.
Remember to reserve some of the cheese for sprinkling over the top of the mac and cheese.
Once all the cheese has been added and the sauce is smooth set it aside while we drain
the macaroni.
It should be al dente, or even a little under done as it will continue cooking when we place
it into the oven.
Drain the macaroni in a colander and shake to remove as much water as possible.
Pour the pasta into the cheese sauce and give it a mix until everything is well incorporated.
This is just a simple recipe but at this point feel free to add anything else you would like,
bacon is quite popular.
Pour the mac and cheese into a baking dish and sprinkle over the cheese we set aside
earlier.
Place it into a preheated oven until the cheese has melted and everything is crispy and bubbling.
If you give this recipe a go, don’t forget to let me know how it goes and send me a picture
on my social media.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for watching.
If you haven’t already, make sure to take a look at this Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe,
just click the screen now.
I’ll see you in my next video, Bye!