A delicious Mac N Cheese is my go to recipe when it comes to satiate some comfort food cravings. Who doesn't relish a rich creamy bite of soft macaroni filled with cheesy goodness. All it takes is the right flavours and consistency in the white sauce. A perfect Mac N Cheese is a blend of two or more artisan cheese varieties to bring that balance of cheesy flavours. I have tried blending lots of cheese together but a combination of cheddar, gouda and parmesan works best every single time to get that nutty sharp taste along with perfectly creamy texture in white sauce. Bothe sharp cheddar as well as mature cheddar works fine, in this one I used the sharp one to top only, just to give it a little golden tint. So lets get started.
Equipment
- sauce pan
- baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 cups macaroni pasta
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 pods garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 cup full fat milk room temperature
- 1 tbsp red chilli flakes
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 cup grated mature cheddar
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1/2 cup grated gouda cheese
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp crushed black pepper
Instructions
- Add pasta into boiling salted water and cook for 12-15 minutes, then drain and keep aside
- Meanwhile heat olive oil and butter into a sauce pan at low flame then add garlic to it and slowly cook until it turns golden, this will add flavour of garlic into the butter and oil.
- Now add flour, paprika and some salt then mix together quickly to roast it lightly, keep stirring for 2-3 minutes
- Add the full fat milk very slowly while you mix continuously to create a roux. it will form a thick lumpy paste at first and turn into smooth roux eventually as you keep adding milk slowly. Keep the flame low at this point.
- Now keep stirring until you get a thick white sauce, this will take 4-5 minutes on low flame, then add chilli flakes, oregano and black pepper, check for salt, mix well and turn off the flame.
- Now add all grated cheeses and mix together well. Once the cheeses are melted and mixed well into the roux, you will get an amazing garlicky flavoured cheesy white sauce. At this point add on the macaroni pasta and incorporate it within the sauce.
- Once the pasta is mixed well with the sauce, you can either heat it a little more in very low flame before serving or else bake it topped with more cheese inside the oven for 20 mins at 180°c for a baked pasta.