My family has always been huge fans of cheese dishes, and my son had been bothering me for quite a while, because he wished to eat Mac and Cheese one day.
Unfortunately, the choice of pasta which I can buy at a reasonable price around here is quite limited, so it was clear that our dish wouldn’t be based on Macaronis, but rather on Fusili pasta. Of course, if you can get your hands on Macaroni, use those.
Another limitation was today’s temperature. It was just far too hot to ignite our gas oven, so I decided to only prepare the pasta and sauce on the stove.
So, to make my son happy, I plundered our fridge and our pantry, and tossed together whatever “cheese-based” ingredients if found. I must admit that the result was very pleasant.
Ingredients:
- 500 g short pasta (Fusili in our case, but Macaroni are great, too)
- 125 g Cheddar (aged one, if possible)
- 250 g Mozzarella (the block)
- 800 ml milk (I used cow’s milk in this case as I have no idea if plant based milk would work because of the taste)
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 6 tablespoons butter / margarine
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 50 ml water
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Preparation:
First of all, start by grating the cheeses, and then put them back into the refrigerator.
Next, fill a big pot with water, salt it and bring it to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the Fussili and cook them according to the instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, we’ll prepare the cheese sauce. For that, take a wok or big anti-adherent frying pan. Put the butter / margarine inside and start to heat. When the margarine is melted, add the flour while stirring continuously with a whisk. Next, add the milk. First one half of it and stir until it is well mixed with the flour. Then, add the other half. Continue stirring and heating the sauce on medium heat.
You’ll notice that the sauce thickens a bit. At this time, add the grated cheddar. Continue to stir until the Cheddar has melted. Next, add the Mozzarella in batches. I added about one third at a time. Don’t stop stirring and mix the Cheeses well into the sauce. Be careful that nothing get’s burned or sticks to the bottom of your pan. You should now have something similar to a pretty liquid Cheese Fondue.
Pour the 50 ml water into a glass, add the cornstarch and mix well, until the cornstarch is well diluted. Add it to your Cheese sauce and incorporate well.
In the meantime, the Fusilli should be ready. Drain them well, and add them to the cheese sauce.
Mix and stir well until all the pasta is covered with a lot of cheese sauce.
Serve, sprinkle a bit of parsley on top of it, as well as a few turns of ground pepper from the mill, and enjoy while still hot!
My husband and my son loved the gooey, viscous and sticky sauce, and the taste of the aged cheddar.
How about you? Have you already eaten Mac and Cheese? What are your favorite cheeses used in it?
I’m curious to read about your experiences and preferences.
STEAMING CAULDRONS 