This mac ’n cheese is a dream

Full disclosure: this might be the best mac ‘n cheese ever. There’s lots of cheese and fried pork rashers ... It’s the kind of dish that will have you fighting over the leftovers (if there are any …)

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This mac ’n cheese is a dream

Ingredients:

For the cheese sauce:

  • 2 cups milk
  • Few sprigs thyme
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 1 onion, cut into wedges
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • For the white sauce
  • 4 T butter
  • 4 T flour
  • 200 g Grana Padano, finely grated, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 150 g mature Gouda, finely grated
  • fresh nutmeg, finely grated

For the pasta:

  • 500 g rigatoni, cooked al dente
  • 2 pork rashers, chopped and fried (optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. To make the cheese sauce, gently heat the milk in a saucepan with thyme, peppercorns, onion, garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and allow to infuse for 15 minutes.
  2. To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and mix to form a roux (paste). Cook for 1 minute, then turn off the heat. Gradually whisk in the infused milk. Return to the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking continuously, until thick. Add the Grana Padano and Gouda and mix to combine. Season with freshly grated nutmeg.
  3. Fold the al dente rigatoni and pork rashers through the cheese sauce. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with more cheese. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

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