Comfort Mac ‘N Cheese

Food is many things… it brings joy, brings people together, sparks conversation… but it’s also a comfort. On a rainy day, or a cold winters evening, or maybe even after one of those days when nothing seemed to go ‘right’… this bowl of cheesy, warm goodness can bring will bring you some comfort.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

300g dried macaroni pasta

50g unsalted butter

50g plain flour

2 cups milk

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 cup grated mozzarella

1 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup chives

Salt & pepper to taste


Method

  1. Prepare all of your ingredients: grate the cheeses, finely chop the chives.

  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the dried macaroni pasta and cook as per the cooking instructions (approximately 8 minutes). Drain the pasta once it’s finished cooking.

  3. In a medium pot over low heat, melt the butter.

  4. Once melted, add the flour and stir well to combine - this is called a ‘roux’. The butter and flour mixture will turn into a paste like consistency. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring.

  5. Very slowly pour the milk in (about 150mls at a time) and use a whisk to combine. This is important as you want to ensure you remove all lumps. After you have added all of the milk, increase the heat to medium and continue whisking until the mixture has thickened (this should take about 3-4 minutes).

  6. Once the mixture is as thick as you would like it, add in the mustard powder and garlic powder and whisk vigorously to make sure there are no lumps.

  7. Remove from the heat, add the cheese and stir until melted. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.

  8. Stir in the chives and the pasta and then serve.

  9. Enjoy!