Ultimate mac 'n' cheese
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Mowie Kay
Ultimate mac 'n' cheese
Does it get more comforting than macaroni cheese? Creamy yet sharp with cheddar and parmesan and with a golden, crispy crust, you could add in some veg like cherry tomatoes and spinach, if you like
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving (1 of 4))
Calories
937Kcal
Fat
46gr
Saturates
28gr
Carbs
88gr
Sugars
9gr
Fibre
5gr
Protein
41gr
Salt
1.6gr
Nadine Brown
When Nadine isn't busy developing delicious recipes and using her experience as a health food editor to create healthy treats, she's munching and reviewing her way around her beloved home town of Tottenham. Find out what she's cooking and eating on Instagram @n0sh.17
See more of Nadine Brown’s recipes
Nadine Brown
When Nadine isn't busy developing delicious recipes and using her experience as a health food editor to create healthy treats, she's munching and reviewing her way around her beloved home town of Tottenham. Find out what she's cooking and eating on Instagram @n0sh.17
See more of Nadine Brown’s recipes
Ingredients
- 400g macaroni
- 600ml whole milk
- 50g unsalted butter
- 50g plain flour
- 280g mature cheddar cheese, finely grated
- 50g parmesan, finely grated
- 1 tsp English mustard
- a few gratings of nutmeg
Step by step
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 9 minutes until al dente. Tip into a colander, reserving a little of the pasta water, and leave to drain.
- Meanwhile, start on the cheese sauce. Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until very hot but not boiling. In a separate large saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat and gradually add the flour, stirring to combine into a roux. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until lightly golden.
- Gradually add the hot milk to the roux, using a whisk to combine. Turn up the heat to medium-low and cook for a further 2 minutes or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Reserve 20g of the cheddar and stir the rest into the sauce with half the parmesan, the mustard and the nutmeg. Season with black pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Stir the pasta into the cheese sauce. Add a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen slightly then pour the mixture into a 17cm x 26cm ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and transfer to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the dish around and bake for a further 10 minutes until deeply golden on top and bubbling under the surface.
