Old-Fashioned Mac and Cheese
8 servings
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Ingredients
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- 4 cups (400 g) elbow macaroni
- ½ stick (60 g) butter
- 50 g all-purpose flour
- 3 ¾ cups (900 ml) whole milk, warmed
- 1 tsp mustard powder · pinch of cayenne
- 3 ½ cups (350 g) mature cheddar, grated from the block
- ½ cup (50 g) parmesan, grated
- 40 g breadcrumbs + 20 g melted butter, for the top
Method
- Cook the macaroni in well-salted water — 2 minutes less than the packet says. Drain and toss with a splash of oil.
- Roux. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, cook 1–2 minutes until biscuity. Whisk in the warm milk gradually; simmer 4–5 minutes until it coats a spoon.
- Cheese — off the heat. Pan off the stove. Stir in the mustard and cayenne, then the cheddar and parmesan a handful at a time until glossy. Season well.
- Combine. Fold in the macaroni — it should look slightly too saucy. Into a buttered dish, buttered crumbs over the top.
- Bake. 20–25 minutes at 400°F (200°C, fan 180°C) until bubbling and golden. Rest 10 minutes — the corners belong to whoever helped wash up.
Granny's tip
Warm the milk before it meets the roux — cold milk seizes the flour into lumps; warm milk whisks in like silk.