This is great comfort food and you can add your own twist.
Ingredients
- 300g dried macaroni
- 1 medium onion, peeled and very finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 60g butter, softened
- 50g plain flour
- 1 pint milk
- 200g grated strong Cheddar
- pinch or two of nutmeg
- 1 1/2 level tbsp English mustard
- 1 x 10g vegetable stock cube
- 4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- salt
- freshly milled pepper
- 4 slices white bread, crusts removed and made into crumbs
Method
- Cook the macaroni in plenty of boiling water, until just cooked, then drain well, add a tbsp oil to stop the pasta sticking together.
- Warm the olive oil and add the onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the milk, stock cube then bring to the boil.
- Meanwhile mix the butter and flour together, to form a paste.
- Once the milk is boiling, turn down the heat to a simmer, then whisk in the butter and flour mixture, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Take off the heat and stir in 175g of the cheese and the cooked macaroni.
- Add a pinch or two of nutmeg, mustard, pepper, salt and the chopped basil.
- Spoon into an ovenproof dish, top with the 25g grated Cheddar and the breadcrumbs then brown under a hot grill or in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Phil's Tips
You can also replace the cheese with Roquefort for a stronger flavor.
