BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE
If you prefer to use only one kind of cheese, you are welcome.
- 450 – 500 g elbow macaroni
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 6 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup Peppery Jack cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 3 cups sharp Cheddar, divided
Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C.
Shred the cheeses, keeping 2 cups of the cheddar off to the side for the topping.
Cook the pasta two minutes shy of the instructions, rinse and let cool. (We don’t want the extra starch of the water making the mac and cheese too thick)
Add the butter to a large pot and melt on medium-low heat.
Add the flour, mustard, cayenne and paprika and whisk together until fully combined, cook for an additional 15 seconds.
Add the milk slowly while whisking to keep the mixture well combined.
Add in the salt and pepper and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat.
Remove 1 cup of the milk mixture and let cool for a 3 – 5 minutes in the refrigerator in a larger glass measuring cup or bowl.
Add the egg to the cooled milk and whisk it well until fully combined.
Turn the heat on the pot back on to medium-low.
Slowly pour the egg and milk mixture into the rest of the milk while whisking very well.
Add in the Peppery Jack, Mozzarella and 1 cup of the sharp Cheddar and whisk until combined.
Add the cooled macaroni back into the pot and toss with the cheese sauce.
Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with the remaining 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered.
Notes
I use blocks of cheese for my mac and cheese because shredded cheese is coated in a powder that prevents the cheese from sticking to each other. This also results in cheese that may not melt as fully and result in as creamy of a texture as we’d like.
Removing the cup of milk, cooling, then adding in the egg allows for us to temper the egg which prevents it from immediately scrambling in the hot milk mixture.
Extra Note:
Ek gooi ‘n bietjie sweet chillisous en mosterd bo op – dan oond toe vanaand!
Foto is geneem voor dit gebak is.
Recipe and photo: Micarla Erasmus
